Use Your Tax Return For Your Santa Clarita Divorce

Posted by Tim Blankenship on

Use Your Tax Return For Your Santa Clarita Divorce

If I had a dollar for every advertisement that is telling folks to use their tax return for their divorce, I would be a rich man.

There is a reason why divorce attorneys advertise heavy during tax season. It is because they are fully aware of the high costs of attorney representation when going through divorce.

So I will be the exception and say not to use your tax return for your divorce. Don’t spend your hard earned money on hiring an attorney.

Instead, be smart, and use our divorce document preparation service and save most of your tax return and go on a vacation or pay off some bills. The last thing you should do is spend all of your tax return on an attorney or go further into debt.

Yes, there is a way to get divorced and not spend a small fortune. We have been providing affordable divorce services in Los Angeles County and helping clients save money on their divorce.

It is our goal to help our clients save money. We do this by providing a flat fee service and providing excellent client service.

Our flat fee service includes providing you with information about how divorce works, the divorce process, providing free mediation services through the court and helping you understand what it is going to take to complete your divorce.

We want you to understand the divorce process and get you through it as painless and with as little cost as possible.

We have been successfully helping our clients complete their divorce and providing a valuable service here in Santa Clarita.

We are here to tell you to save your tax return and spend just a little of it as necessary if your are going to use it for your divorce. There is no need to blow it on costly attorneys.

We are a licensed and bonded legal document preparation service that specializes in divorce. We are headquartered in Santa Clarita and serve all of Los Angeles County.@

How To Write A Divorce Motion Declaration Santa Clarita

Posted by Tim Blankenship on

We have been preparing a lot of divorce motions (Request for Orders) as well as Responses to Request for Orders.

People come to us to assist them with completing the paperwork and writing their declaration in support of their argument on why the court should approve request they are making.

We thought we would write about the process of preparing your declaration to perhaps give some pointers. There is no exact way to write a declaration but there are some best practices. We will share what we have learned having worked for family law firms and the divorce courts and what we see most commonly in the declarations.

First, lets talk about the structure of your declaration. In most cases, if you are preparing a motion, you will want to start you declaration by giving some background information about the current situation. For instance, you may say “we have been married for 3 years and have 1 child together” You could provide as much background that makes sense to set up the declaration to follow.

You will notice that the Request For Order has several issues you can address. Your declaration should follow the same order as the issues are listed on the Request For Order form. This will help give good structure to the declaration, keep your ideas in order and make it easier for the judge to read.

The next thing to think of is how you want your declaration to read. You have to watch out for the tone that comes across. Is it attacking, threatening or blaming. I have read declarations that have all of these. Most of the time, declarations that have these elements in them are written by attorneys who are setting the stage to really stir things up. Other times, they are true and completely necessary.

It is a good practice to stick to the facts and avoid allowing emotion to show through in your writing. The courts don’t really care about how you feel, etc. They just need the fact so they can make a decision. Adding unnecessary information may do more harm than good.

When we prepare declarations for folks, we will usually ask you to prepare a list of facts in support of your request. We will then draft the declaration and then give to you for approval and changes. By us writing the declaration, no emotion will be entered into the text and the facts will be presented in a clear fashion.

Our clients have been very happy with the declarations we write for their motions for divorce. If you need to file a motion or respond to a motion, please give us a call.

Divorce Is All We Do In Santa Clarita

Posted by Tim Blankenship on

As legal Document Assistants we are allowed to provide many different types of legal services. However, we chose to focus completely on divorce. Divorce is all we do in Santa Clarita.

We wanted to specialize in divorce, because that is where our years of experience working with the courts and law firms are. In addition, we wanted to be the only game in town when folks wanted expert divorce assistance.

Because divorce is all we do, we prepare more divorce cases in Los Angeles County than any other legal document preparation firm. With each divorce we complete, we gain more and more experience.

It is very much like when you need a medical procedure . Do you go to a general practitioner to have a heart transplant? Of course not. You would go to a specialist. Could the general practitioner get the job done? Maybe and maybe not and if they did, the would not do as good as a job as the specialist.

We are the specialists in divorce and the good news is that it will not cost you any more to get our expert divorce document preparation service.

Because divorce is all we do, we can handle just about any type of case. We can help with divorce services such as filing motions, responses, post judgment issues, Modifications, child custody, child support, spousal support and everything else in between.

It is important to work with a divorce firm who is aware of the changing rules of divorce. We get a lot of business from folks who have gone to some paralegal or franchise company that fouled up the paperwork.

We are trying to protect consumer from falling prey to these paralegals who are operating illegally. We are doing this by a massive online public awareness campaign about the differences between legitimate divorce document preparation firms, such as ours and illegally operating “paralegals”.

Give us a call if you have questions about divorce. We are here to help give expert divorce assitance.

We Help Solve Divorce Problems In Santa Clarita

Posted by Tim Blankenship on

We Help Solve Divorce Problems In Santa Clarita

When you work with our divorce document preparation firm, you get more than just expertly prepared divorce forms. You also get our assistance in helping you solve your problems related to divorce.

When we say problems, we are referring to questions you have about divorce and the divorce process.

The problems you face during divorce can be many. Most often the problems you will face will have to do with a couple of issues. These problems are usually about money, child support, child custody and child visitation.

All of these are tied to money. The first being spousal support. Many couples have questions about how much, if any, spousal support will need to be paid. We are able to help you resolve this problem by helping you get assistance from the court facilitators office. They will go over your incomes and explain how spousal support works so you can come to an agreement on this problem.

What about problems related to your children. Problems related to your children can be resolved with the courts mediation services which we can arrange for you. Again, this is also about money. How much one parent has their children can have some impact on the amount of any child support may need to be paid.

The courts mediator is a neutral third party who can help you come up with a parenting plan to determine how to want to arrange the issues about your children.

We are also able to help you with the remainder of your divorce problems. Because of our experiences working with the courts and understanding of how the divorce process works, we can help you navigate the courts system.

Divorce is all we do, day in and day out. When you want to work with the most experienced divorce firm in Santa Clarita, please give us a call.

We Provide Valuable Divorce Information In Santa Clarita

Posted by Tim Blankenship on

We Provide Valuable Divorce Information In Santa Clarita

Over the last several years, we have been responsible for providing valuable divorce information here to the residents of Santa Clarita. We have done this through blogging, creating videos and podcasts about divorce.

We have been the first company in the legal industry to work hard to get as much information about divorce into the hands of those looking for assistance.

The legal industry, and lawyers specifically, are not very forthcoming with information. What I mean here is that you won’t find divorce attorneys giving away free information about divorce. It is almost as if they want to withhold information so you have to rely on their services and pay their high fees.

We have decided to do exactly the opposite. We write and blog about as much divorce information we can find. We research information on court websites and make it easier to locate information by linking to the specific information you are looking for.

In addition, we share all the information we learn by processing as many divorce cases as we do. When we learn something new, we make sure to get the word out. When our clients ask us a question that we have not been asked, we make sure to also answer it on our blogs as they are probably not the only ones that have that question.

We are here to help you become informed about divorce and the divorce process. We want our clients to understand exactly what the process is and what it is going to take to complete their divorce.

We routinely spend lots of time consulting clients so they know exactly what is going on every step of the divorce process.

If you are going to work with a document preparation service, make sure they have the knowledge and experience to be able to see your divorce thorough to a successful completion.

Give us a call for a free consultation. At the end of your conversation you will walk away with a total understanding of the divorce process and what we can do for you to solve your problem.

Procedure Of Divorce Difficult For Many In Santa Clarita

Posted by Tim Blankenship on

Procedure Of Divorce Difficult For Many In Santa Clarita

If you are going to have trouble in completing your divorce it is going to be from one of two sources.

The first issue you will run into is regarding how to complete the divorce forms. We talk about this quite a bit on our blog.

However, the procedure of getting divorced will give you just as much trouble.

What we are talking about here are things such as what forms to fill out first, which documents can be mailed to your spouse and which need to be personally served.

Other questions surround what is required to be disclosed on the financial disclosures and do you list just the property that you currently have in your possession or do you list all property whether in your name or your spouses.

The divorce procedure is easy if you deal with it day in and day out as we do. When you work with us you don’t have to worry about what forms to complete, what the procedure is. You won’t have to worry about figuring out which of the 25 page judgment forms you will need to complete to avoid having your divorce judgment rejected by the court.

We take care of all of this for you.

There are several reasons we are so knowledgable about the divorce process. First of all, divorce is what we do everyday. We start, on average, 2 to 4 new divorce cases each week. That is a lot of divorces, especially considering how long we have been doing this.

Another reason is because we volunteer with the very courts you case will be filed in. As Superior Court volunteers we are some of the first people to learn of any changes as it pertains to divorce.

So whether you start with our company from the very beginning or have got stuck somewhere in the middle, we can help.

Give us a call and we can pick up where you left off and take care of the difficult procedure of getting your divorce completed.

Getting Divorced Is Not As Easy As Some Say – Santa Clarita

Posted by Tim Blankenship on

Getting Divorced Is Not As Easy As Some Say – Santa Clarita

This is to all those folks out there that were told by their friend, relative or even the Court’s self help center that you could represent yourself during your divorce and do it completely on your own.

It is true that you can represent yourself during your divorce. However, it is very unlikely that you will successfully navigate the court system and complete the divorce process on your own without some type of assistance.

I am not saying you are unable or incompetent. I am just saying that I have helped people get through their divorce, not because I am smarter, but because this is the area where I specialize and have helped do many people do.

It is like anything else in life. Lets make a sports analogy. Lets say you are really good at tennis. You have been playing for a while, maybe you played in high school and are very familiar with the game. You know your opponent and can figure them out right from the beginning and can predict what do to.

Now, lets say you are invited to play some other sport, maybe something less known like Lacrosse. I chose this because it is not very well known in Santa Clarita as it is in other countries but it is an up and coming sport out here.

Now, if you went to play lacrosse, you would probably make mistakes, be confused and have lots of setbacks. Eventually you will start to understand, but not be very sure of yourself. You might finish the game or perhaps you would sub-out and have someone go in for you.

What I am trying to say here by this analogy is that it is possible to do your own divorce. You will have setbacks, be confused, not understand and become frustrated at the process. You will have some understanding, but the time you invest in the process will not be well spent.

People who use our divorce services come from all walks of life and from various points in the divorce process. Some have sought our service from the very beginning while others have asked for our help after spending years trying to do it themselves.

Of course, in retrospect, it makes sense to come to us first. But regardless of what point you decide you need help, please understand that we can pick up where you left off and complete the divorce process for you.

On Completing Your Nullity of Marriage In Santa Clarita

Posted by Tim Blankenship on

On Completing Your Nullity of Marriage In Santa Clarita

We are proud to say that we recently helped a client complete a nullity of their marriage.

To be honest, we were prepared for failure, but were going to give it our best effort and fight. Why do I say this?

Because a nullity of marriage is much different than a divorce. In a divorce, you don’t need a good reason to get divorced. In fact, you don’t need any reason at all. All you need to say is that there are irreconcilable differences, and nobody will ever ask the reason. Sadly, nobody cares.

However, when it comes to a nullity, you do need to have a reason. And it has to be one of a few legal reasons. And you have to prove it to the court by appearing in court yourself to explain why the judge should annul your marriage.

The reason we took this case on is because this client had already spent $25,000 in attorney fees with a law firm who was unable to complete it for them.

You see, when you run out of money and are unable to pay your attorney fees, that attorney that was your advocate and in your corner no longer has your best interest in mind. No money, no representation.

In this particular case, the reason the nullity was requested was because one of the spouses was still legally married at the time of the marriage. This is one of the legal reasons you can use to get a marriage annulled.

Both spouse were in agreement with the nullity and it was a matter of getting the matter heard in front of the judge who has to make the order and sign the judgment saying he approved of the nullity and that there was legal reason to order it.

There was one other issue. The husband was having another child with his new fiancee’ in 4 weeks and wanted his previous marriage dealt with so his new child would be considered his legitimate child.

Because the nullity had to be heard in front of a judge and because the spouses were in agreement, I sent both of them to court on an ex-parte hearing so they could have their case heard.

I was not sure if the judge would hear the case, because ex-parte hearings are supposed to be emergency cases only, but we used the fact that he was having another child as the emergency. I even told my client I was not sure what would happen at the hearing.

Well the starts were aligned that day and the judge heard the matter and ordered the marriage annulled effective immediately. Our client could not have been happier.

It just goes to show that you don’t need an attorney, even for an annulment of marriage. I don’t assume we will be handling many annulments, but wanted to show folks how hard we work to make things go right for our clients.

 

Do You Have An Easy Divorce – Santa Clarita

Posted by Tim Blankenship on

Do You Have An Easy Divorce – Santa Clarita

While no divorce is truly easy (the Courts made sure of that) there are some that are not as difficult as others.

The divorce process is all about filing out forms and paperwork, following proper procedure and checking the correct boxes. This truly what is is all about, for course, aside from all the emotion and issues you are going through.

So the more issues you have to resolve the more paperwork there is to complete. That is what separates easy from the more involved cases.

For instance, if you don’t have any assets, debts or property, you don’t have to fill out the forms that relate to that. If you don’t have any issues with spousal support or don’t have any children, you don’t have to fill out the documents that relate to those issues.

Divorce cases that have fewer issues are easier in that there is less paperwork to fill out. But the paperwork is only one issue. You still have to ensure that you follow the proper procedure for your divorce to conclude properly. The forms are only half the battle.

Divorce is never easy, that I am sure we can agree on. It is the combination of dealing with a process you never had to deal with, combined with unfamiliar forms and confusing court procedures. This is what you are up against, even if you have what you think is an easy divorce.

Even if you have a divorce case with very few issues, no property, no assets, etc., you should still hire our company to assist you with completing your divorce forms and assisting you through the divorce procedure requirements.

Here is why we say you should use us even if you have an “easy” divorce. We have seen some of the brightest people have some of the most difficult times in completing their divorce paperwork. So it is not that folks don’t have an aptitude or are not smart enough to do their own divorce, rather it is the fact that the courts procedures are confusing and misleading.

Spare yourself the grief of attempting your divorce on your own. Save your precious time and have the experts handle your divorce for you.

How To Keep Your Divorce Amicable – Santa Clarita

Posted by Tim Blankenship on

How To Keep Your Divorce Amicable – Santa Clarita

There are lots of benefits of having an amicable divorce in Santa Clarita. Probably the biggest advantage is cost. With an amicable divorce, you don’t need to hire an attorney which will save you a ton of money.

There are some things you can do to help keep your divorce amicable throughout the process. The common theme throughout this will be communication.

First, prior to filing for divorce it is a good idea that you try to discuss getting divorced. Try to have a few conversations with your spouse and come up with a plan. Those with a plan of action fare much better.

This means deciding on when to file, who is going to file and agreeing on a divorce document preparation company like us to meet with.

One or both of you can meet with us to make sure you are comfortable using our service. When you meet with us, we will explain the divorce process in full so both parties understand exactly what to expect throughout the process.

The next thing to do to keep your divorce amicable is to avoid hiring a process server. Nobody like having some stranger walk up to them and be handed divorce papers and told they are being served. We can help you avoid having to do this. In fact, you could simply have the spouse that needs to be served come to our office and pick up the documents. We will complete the necessary forms to tell the court that service was completed.

Most issues that come up will be about custody and visitation of children or about money. We will show you how to use the courts free services to help you understand the law so you can make decisions on any issues that you are having trouble coming to an agreement on.

Using the ideas in the article will help keep your divorce amicable. Give us a call so we can come up with a plan for you to keep things running smooth during your divorce.