5 Tips To Ensure You Have An Amicable California Divorce

Posted by Tim Blankenship on

5 Tips To Ensure You Have An Amicable California Divorce

It is possible to divorce amicably and without a court battle. An uncontested divorce in California is not only less expensive but also much faster than a contested divorce. It can also be less stressful for both parties involved, as it avoids the need for long court hearings and trial dates.

Divorce can be a stressful and overwhelming experience. It is important to understand your rights and obligations under California divorce law before filing for divorce, so that both parties are aware of the process ahead of time.

Fortunately, there are ways to make the divorce process amicable and uncontested in California. In this blog post, we will discuss five tips on how to have an amicable divorce in California, including discussing divorce in advance, understanding legal rights and obligations under divorce law, agreeing on property division matters, settling custody issues appropriately, and addressing spousal or child support payments. By following these tips you can ensure that your divorce goes as smoothly as possible.

Watch The Video Below…

Tip 1: Discuss divorce in advance

Make sure to have a lot of good communication before filing for divorce, so that both parties are aware that divorce is imminent and can begin preparing for it. If you want an amicable divorce, avoid making it a surprise at all costs.

2: Understand your rights and obligations under California divorce law

Before you file anything with the court, make sure you understand the divorce laws so you can make informed decisions. This does not mean that you are going to court, but having an understanding of how the process works will allow you to reach a fair agreement.

Tip 3: Discuss the issues that need to be addressed

Before filing for divorce, make sure you discuss matters such as property division, custody and spousal/child support. These conversations should take place in a respectful manner, so that everyone is aware of what needs to happen and can come up with agreeable solutions.

Tip 4: Discuss your finances and look at your assets and debts

Attempt to figure out how they should best be divided fairly between you. This is a key part of divorce, as it’s important that both parties are financially secure after divorce proceedings have been finalized as best as possible.

Tip 5: If you have an amicable divorce then a divorce attorney is not required

You can save thousands of dollars in attorney fees by using a less costly option such as a legal document assistant that specializes in the divorce process. A legal document assistant can help with paperwork and ensuring all divorce-related documents are filled out correctly, file them with the court and ensure a smooth process.

Divorce is never easy, but it doesn’t have to be a drawn out and contentious process. If you and your spouse are on the same page about divorce proceedings, an amicable divorce could be the best option for both of you.

An uncontested divorce in California can save time, money, and stress by avoiding long court hearings and trial dates.

Here at Divorce661.com, we specialize in amicable divorce cases anywhere in California and would love to assist you with your divorce. Please use the link above to schedule a free consultation with us today to see how we can help. We look forward to hearing from you!

do you pay child support with 50/50 custody

Do You Pay Child Support With 50/50 Custody In California | Divorce661.Com

Posted by Tim Blankenship on

Do You Pay Child Support With 50/50 Custody In California

There are several factors that determine whether you will pay child support with 50/50 custody.

The two main elements are timeshare and custody.

So here is how this works.

If your incomes are the same and you have 50/50 custody, the child support calculated will be very close to zero.

It is not exactly zero on the child support calculator (dissomaster) because one spouse is assigned the tax deduction.

See video below for explanation.

The other factor is income.  Even if you have 50/50 joint custody, if one spouse has more or less income, this is going to effect the amount of child support.

What If We Agree To No Child Support with 50/50 timeshare?

Many of our clients do not want child support as part of their California divorce case.

But we have to provide the court the child support dissomaster calculation to show the court what child support should be.

So how do the client get away with not having to have a child support order in their divorce?

By agreeing to it.

If you know what you are doing it really is quite simple.  This is despite the fact that child support is mandatory in California.

I guess you could call it a loophole for lack of a better word.

How We Get Our Clients A No Child Support Order

We provide the court the calculation and show what child support shows. Then we tell the court the parties agree to a lesser amount which is usually zero.

We provide additional language to the court that explains how the child support agreed upon is in the best interest of the minor child.

We also attach an additional document to the FL-342 Child Support order called the Non-Guideline child support attachment.

We’ve done this for more than 10 years and never had an issue having our child support orders changed from the calculated amount on the dissomaster to either a higher, lower or no child support.

Let Divorce661 Assist You With Your Amicable Divorce In California

If you have an amicable divorce anywhere in California, we can assist you with your amicable divorce.

Don’t get caught up in the divorce courts telling you what you have to do.

Our clients get exactly what they want, because they are in full agreement.

You just have to know how to package up the divorce judgment properly.

 

child support calculator Los Angeles

Child Support Calculator Los Angeles | Divorce661.Com

Posted by Tim Blankenship on

Child Support Calculator Los Angeles

In this article we discuss how the child support calculator works.  This is also referred to as a “Dissomaster”

Why “Dissomaster”?

All I can tell you is that the word “Disso” is short for dissolution and everyone in the legal industry refers to any child support or spousal support calculation as a “Dissomaster”

When Is A Child Support Calculator Needed

A dissomaster or child support calculator is needed in many cases.

First, whenever you are submitting a divorce judgment to court you have to attach a child support calculation.

The court needs to see the income of the parties and the timeshare and the resulting amount of child support that should be ordered under what is called “Guideline”.  Guideline is just is just referring to the calculation result itself.

Second, a child support calculator or Dissomaster is needed when you want to see what child support might be if you were to go to court.

We provide a child support calculation to our clients so they can see what the court may order for child support.

Then they can decide on their own how much child support they want to agree to.  The court does not get involved in making a decision on the amount of child support if the parties agree.

Even if this amount is more or less than the guideline amount of child support that was calculated.

What If You Want No Child Support?

Many of our clients do not want child support as part of their divorce.

Our clients will say something like, “We have an easy divorce, neither of us want child support”

The interesting thing about that is that if they went to court to do their own divorce the court would enforce child support from one party to the other.

So how do we obtain no child support for our clients?

It’s asking for what’s called a non-guideline child support order.

Here Is How It Works

If you have an amicable divorce and you and your spouse agree to it, you can have zero child support as part of your judgment.

Even though child support is mandatory in California, you are allowed to stipulate or agree that despite the child support calculator showing a guideline amount of child support to be paid, that you want it to be zero or some other amount.

Do You Have An Amicable Divorce?

If you have an amicable divorce you and your spouse get to call all the shots and make all the decisions.

At Divorce661.com  we will package up your agreements with whatever terms you want.  Again, so long as you both agree to them, we can write up pretty much anything.

You just have to know how to write it up properly.

We have a lot of clients that come to us after they tried to do their own divorce and found the court forcing them to make decisions they didn’t really want to do.

If you find yourself in this situation please give us a call.

We handle amicable divorce cases anywhere in California.

how do i file for divorce when both parties agree in santa clarita

How Do I File For Divorce When Both Parties Agree In Santa Clarita?

Posted by Tim Blankenship on

How Do I File For Divorce When Both Parties Agree In Santa Clarita?

There are different ways to file for divorce.   When both parties agree to their divorce and when you don’t.

There are several benefits to being in agreement with your spouse when deciding to file for divorce in Santa Clarita

CHOOSE US A NETURAL 3RD PARTY

When both parties agree to their divorce and the terms of their divorce the best option is to use a neutral third party to handle your divorce case.

If you are in agreement it makes no sense for each of you to obtain different divorce service providers.

This will just cause problems and add to your cost unnecessarily.

At Divorce661, we work with both parties in every divorce case.  We charge a single flat fee that covers both parties and the entire divorce process from beginning to end.

NO ATTORNEY OR COURT REQUIRED

Divorce attorneys are only needed when you and your spouse do not agree and when you think you may be headed to court.

They are also good when you just want to get some legal advice.

But if you agree to the terms of your divorce there is no court requirement.  You will never see a judge or even step foot into court when you use our Santa Clarita divorce service.

FINALIZE YOUR SANTA CLARITA DIVORCE FASTER

Another benefit is how fast we can finalize your divorce.  Depending on how far along you are on reaching an agreement, really dictates how fast we can complete your divorce.

Some clients call us and already have discussed the terms of their divorce.  In these cases, we can complete all their divorce paperwork and court fling within a few days.

Some clients have only discussed the fact that want to remain amicable and intend on reaching an agreement out of court and without the need for attorneys.

In these cases, the divorce process only takes as long as it takes for our clients to advise us of the terms of their agreement.

Still, we are taking maybe a few weeks. Never months.

The 6 month cooling off period still applies.  But we are having our clients’ divorce cases completed and finalized by the court in less than 3 months usually.

This means the court has approved it and the divorce case is done.  Then what the court does is post date the effectiveness of the dissolution of marriage out to the 6 month mark.

Think of it as a pre-approval of the divorce just pending the date of divorce to pass.

In any case our clients are happy to have their paperwork completed in a few days vs. stretching it out over months.

HOW OUR PROCESS WORKS

As mentioned earlier we work with both clients. We handle all the preparation and filing of all court documents.

The only requirement for our clients is that they provide us with the information we need to put them through the divorce process.

Some of our clients have a full agreement in place.  Some need to discuss it.

Others need a little bit more information from us as far as what are their options which we are able to provide so they can then make a decision.

 

San Diego North County Divorce Court Judgment

San Diego North County Judgment Processing Timelines

Posted by Tim Blankenship on

San Diego North County Judgment Processing Timelines

This article is specifically discussing the San Diego North County judgment processing timelines we are currently seeing.

We handle divorce cases anywhere in California. And in doing so we are able to keep up to date with various court processing timelines.

And we try to publish this information for our clients and the public to have an understanding of some of the court delays we are currently seeing.

Our last few divorce judgments that we submitted to San Diego’s North County divorce court all took about 4 months once the court received it.

We are usually submitting our divorce judgments well in advance of the 6 month cooling off period. So the result of this 4 month delay is not causing our clients divorce cases to extend much, if at all, beyond the 6 month mark.

With out divorce service we usually have our clients divorce case wrapped up in a few days to a week or so.

It is a good thing that we do as this allows for any lengthy court delay which varies by County.

6 Months Is The Soonest Your Divorce Can Finalize

The 6 months is just the soonest your California divorce can be finalized.  It is not a deadline by any means.  And the divorce process can go well over the 6 months.

That does not usually happen with our clients.  As I mentioned, we usually have the divorce paperwork done in a few days or weeks.

This allows us to submit the judgment for review and not cause any delays beyond the 6 months.

How We Process Our Divorce Cases Faster

People wonder how we are able to process divorce cases so fast.

The answer is that we don’t spread the different stages of the divorce process over several months.

Instead we do everything all at once.  We do this so our clients don’t have to go back and forth with over time.

They are able to focus on their divorce case and end up working with us for just a short period of time.

affordable divorce santa clarita

Affordable Divorce Service In Santa Clarita

Posted by Tim Blankenship on

Affordable Divorce Service In Santa Clarita

If you are looking for an affordable divorce service in Santa Clarita, you have come to the write place.

If you have an amicable divorce in Santa Clarita there really is no reason to use a divorce attorney.

We get calls all the time where people had already hired a divorce attorney for their amicable divorce.  Only to spend several $1,000’s of dollars, and what’s worse, not have their divorce finalized.

We’ve even had client come to us who paid $2,000 and all that occurred was to have their Petition filed!

You are better off using an affordable divorce service in Santa Clarita if you’re divorce case is amicable and both parties are cooperative and in full agreement.

DIVORCE ATTORNEY RETAINERS

The fee structure most divorce attorney’s use is a retainer system.  This “Retainer” is just the initial deposit.  Then, the attorneys bill their time against the retainer at their regular hourly rate.

This can be as high as $500 per hour or higher.

How a divorce attorney determined their retainer fee can vary.

Most attorneys will simply charge the norm or what is customer in their area. For instance, if most divorce attorneys in the area are charging $5,000, they will likely do the same.

Others may provide a low-ball retainer amount simply to ease the pain of initially hiring them.  But just know, that this is not your total cost.

Whatever the strategy of the divorce attorney is, just know that if they go over the amount of the retainer, you will we asked to pay additional fees.

HOW OUR FLAT FEE DIVORCE SERVICE WORKS

With Divorce661, we use a flat fee system.  We believe this is the fairest way for both our clients and us.

Having done this since 2012, we know about how much time is going to be spent on an individual divorce case.  Some a little longer time and others a little less.

But it all works out in the end.

What our clients enjoy (if there is anything enjoyable about going through a divorce) is that they know their total cost up front.

We’ve never gone back to a client for additional money.

With our flat fee system, this makes us an affordable divorce service in Santa Clarita.

BUT I’VE ALREADY RETAINED AN ATTORNEY FOR MY AMICABLE DIVORCE

We hear this a lot.  We have people calling all the time that have already hired an attorney.

There is usually two issues why they are calling us.

One, they used up all of the retainer and now the attorney won’t perform any more work.

Or Two, they attorney is no longer getting back to them or finalizing their case. (This usually has something to do with reason number 1.)

If you find yourself in this situation we can help.  You can always substitute our your divorce attorney.

You are not stuck with them.

And we do this all the time.  We simply take over your case and wrap everything up.

Usually in just a few days.

Please give us a call if you need help with your affordable divorce in Santa Clarita.  Whether you have an attorney or were trying to do your own divorce, we can help.

We handle cases anywhere in California and offer free consultations so give us a call anytime.

We are located at

Divorce661 – 27240 Turnberry Lane, Ste. 200 Valencia, CA 91355

Santa Clarita Divorce Process

Santa Clarita Divorce Process Explained

Posted by Tim Blankenship on

Santa Clarita Divorce Process Explained

Is the the Santa Clarita divorce process confusing? Sure.  Can it be made simple in plain English?  Absolutely.

That’s what we do here at Divorce661.  We turn the complicated divorce process into an easily understandable process.

You see, when you have an amicable divorce in Santa Clarita, the process is entirely different.  We are all used to hearing the horror stories about divorce and how they can take years.

With our clients we are talking about days or weeks at the most.

Here is an example of how we completed a divorce in 1 day.

Don’t get me wrong.  A Santa Clarita  divorce process can still be a nightmare. Especially if you are trying to do your own divorce.

I mean, can you do it?  Sure, possibly, it depends.  Do some people get through the process?

Yes. Some Do.  But most do not.

How do we know this?  Because half our business is helping those that tried to do their own Santa Clarita Divorce.

And I understand why you would want to try to do your own divorce.

It is either to save money or because you think your divorce will be easy because you are in agreement.

And you would think the process would be easy if you are in agreement.

COMPLICATED EVEN IF AMICABLE

It is still complicated.  It is a court of law with specific rules that have to be followed.

Are you trying to save money by doing your own divorce?  Watch this short video where I explain that you will pay with either your time (doing your own paperwork) or your money (hiring us to have it done professionally)

Here is the video => Doing You Own Divorce Is Not Free <=

Below is the vide where we discuss the Santa Clarita Divorce process.

We are explaining it as it would occur with an amicable divorce.

When you use our service we don’t break the divorce process into separate pieces.  We complete the entire divorce process in a single step.

Give us a call if you would like assistance with your divorce in Santa Clarita.  We serve all divorce courts in California.

 

Divorce661 is located in Santa Clarita, CA and serves all the courts in California.

California divorce petition mistakes Santa Clarita

Divorce Petition Mistakes To Avoid In California

Posted by Tim Blankenship on

Divorce Petition Mistakes To Avoid In California

I created a video series you can find below that discusses the top petition mistakes people make when filing their own divorce. It is a compilation of 17 videos that are just 15 seconds each.

The Petition is one of the first forms you will prepare when filing your California divorce.

AMENDING YOUR DIVORCE PETITION CAUSES DELAYS

It is critical that you not make these mistakes on your petition.  While you do get one chance to amend your divorce petition, doing so cause a delay on when your divorce can be finalized.

Not to mention, if you amend to your divorce petition you also have to have it re-served and are essentially starting the process again.

And then you have the problem of correctly preparing the proof of service of amended summons and petition which always trips people up.

What a lot of people don’t understand when they file the petition is that the clerk is not there to make sure you prepared it correctly. They will simply take your money and stamp your petition leaving you to think you prepared it correctly.

The paperwork you prepare for your divorce is not ever reviewed until you turn in your judgment.

This is when people will usually have their judgment rejected.  Many times it is because of how or what they included in the  petition.

50% OF OUR BUSSINES IS CORRECTING JUDGMENTS

A lot of our business in from clients that had their judgment rejected. We always make sure we review all documents previously filed.  This includes the Petition.

We cannot assume that the petition or other documents were prepared correctly.  It would be very likely that the judgment would get rejected as well.

At least half the time we do a review of a judgment rejection we are having to amend the petition. This results in us usually having to start at beginning of the divorce case.

If you would like assistance with your divorce or if you have had your California divorce judgment rejected please give us a call.

We can assist you in finalizing your California divorce case.

 

Santa Clarita Divorce File Response Amicable

Amicable Santa Clarita Divorce? What Not To Do

Posted by Tim Blankenship on

Amicable Santa Clarita Divorce?  What Not To Do

Hi there, Tim Blankenship with Divorce661.com and in this article I want to discuss that if you have an amicable Santa Clarita divorce what options you have as far as not filing a response and why you would consider not doing that.

In short, I am going to explain why you don’t want to file a Response (Form FL-120) when you have an amicable divorce in Santa Clarita.

I need to be very clear, we are talking about amicable divorce cases only!
Save Money

Okay, let’s get into it…

What a lot of people don’t understand is that there are two court fees in an uncontested divorce case.  The terms “uncontested” to the court literally means, “a Petition and a Response were filed”.

To you this probably means that you guys are in agreement and don’t need to go to court.

That said, the first reason you don’t want to file a Response if you have an amicable Santa Clarita Divorce is because it will trigger a second court filing fee.

That’s right, as I mentioned above, a lot of people are not aware that if you file a response there is a second court fee. And if you amicable, there is a court procedure known as default.

DEFAULT WITH AGREEMENT

But, there are two types of defaults and I want to be clear what I am talking about because a lot of people get this wrong.

When people hear default, they instantly think that they are going to complete their amicable Santa Clarita divorce without involving the other party at all.  This is not what I am referring to and if you listen to my videos on Youtube, you know I talk about that A LOT.

I am specifically talking about the process of a default, BUT with the other party fully participating and and signing a marital settlement agreement, just without triggering the 2nd court fee because we are purposely not filing the response.

DON’T MAKE THIS MISTAKE

Don’t get me wrong, it is not a mistake to file your Response.  I know, the summons you received that if you don’t file a Response in 30 days you are totally screwed.  I get that…

And this is likely your first divorce and you want to follow the rules.  Of course you do.

But, there are two sets of rules the court does not tell you about.

DO THIS INSTEAD

The reason I bring this up so often, is while we get a ton of calls with clients asking us to take over their amicable case and finalize for them, we get just as many people who have called us AFTER they have filed the response.

And when I speak to them and ask why they filed their Response if they were amicable, the answer is always, “That’s what the court instructions were.

So I am trying to get out in front of this and save you some money.

The hope is that you are reading this article BEFORE you file your response.  We are all about saving our clients money when it comes to their amicable divorce.

Please give us a call if you need assistance with your amicable divorce anywhere in California.

6 Month Cooling Off Period | Santa Clarita Divorce

Posted by Tim Blankenship on

6 Month Cooling Off Period | Santa Clarita Divorce

The question we get a lot at Divorce661 is regarding the 6 month cooling off period when it comes to divorce in California.

The question specifically is “do we have to wait the 6 months if we have already been separated for a period of time?”

It makes sense to me also that if you have been separated, say for 6 months or longer the chance of you reconciling with your spouse are probably dwindling.

Why The 6 Month Cooling Off Period Exists

That is the whole point behind the 6 month cooling off period in California. They want to provide an opportunity for the spouses to get back together before the divorce is finalized.

So why make couples wait if they’ve already been apart for as long as the court would require them had they still been living together.

Some of our clients have been separated for years, some as long as 20 years before filing for divorce.

This happens for a variety of reasons…

But to answer the question, Yes – you still have to wait the 6 months even if you have been separated.

The length of separation has no bearing on the final divorce date.

What starts the 6 months is the filing of the divorce and then the actual date that paperwork is SERVED.

How To Finalize Your Divorce Faster

So if you are in a hurry to have your divorce finalized, the best thing you can do is have the divorce paperwork served shortly after you have filed it.

What I tell our clients who find themselves in this position is that it has already been XXX number of years since they’ve been separated, what is another 6 months going to matter.

It really doesn’t, but I get it – once you decide it is time to file for divorce, you want it over and done with as quickly as possible.