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.

what happens after FL-165 filed california divorce

What Happens After FL-165 Is Filed? | Divorce661.com

Posted by Tim Blankenship on

What Happens After FL-165 Is Filed? | Divorce661.com

You filed your request to enter default form FL-165, but what happens after the FL-165 is filed?

The Request To Enter Default form FL-165 is a form that is signed by the petitioner when you are going through either a true default or default with written agreement type California divorce case.

The word default simply means that no response was filed and therefore that party, the respondent has defaulted by not appearing in the case.

This is not a bad thing if this was the intention of the parties.

For instance, with our clients, we purposely and strategically file our divorce judgements as a default with written agreement.

We do this to save our clients money.  We work with both parties on their amicable divorce.

What a lot of people don’t know is that by filing the response form it triggers another court filing fee.

What Happens After FL-165 Is Filed?

But the real purpose for this article was to explain what happens after the FL-165 is filed.

This depends on a few things.

IF YOU HAVE AN AMICABLE DIVORCE

If you have an amicable California divorce and intentionally filed the request to enter default then the filing of the FL-165 simply means that the court is beginning to process your judgment.

This assumes that you filed your request to enter default FL-165 along with your judgment package as we recommend.

If you filed your request to enter default FL-165 as a separate document then once the default is entered you can now submit your judgment.

But there really is no reason to break them up into separate filings.

The type of case described above is called a Default with written agreement.

IF YOUR DIVORCE IS NOT AMICABLE

But what if your case is not amicable?

If your case is not amicable and you are contesting the terms of the divorce petition you’d normally want to file your response within the allotted time.

This prevents the request to enter default from being filed in the first place.

Some respondents for one reason or another don’t get their response filed in time and the request to enter default FL-165 ends up getting filed.

This has the result of blocking you from filing a Response.

There is a cure for this. You can file a motion to set aside the request to enter default and in my experience the court will generally approve this request.

Then you can file your Response.

HOW WE PROCESS OUR AMICABLE DIVORCE CLIENTS CASES

As I mentioned above we purposely process our clients cases as a default with written agreement. We do this to save our clients money.

So in the case of our clients, what happens after the FL-165 is filed?

For our clients it is good news.  It is just part of the default with written agreement process we put you through and means the court is actively processing your judgment.

LEGAL DESCRIPTION OF HOME REQUIRED ON DIVORCE JUDGMENT

Legal Description Of Property Required On Divorce Judgment | Divorce661.com

Posted by Tim Blankenship on

Legal Description Of Property Required On Divorce Judgment

Tim Blankenship here with Divorce661.com and what we’re talking about in this video is legal descriptions for real property.

So were talking about your home, condo, any real property asset that you own.

So when going through a divorce in California, when you submit your judgment to the court and you indicate, for instance, you’re keeping 100% of real property at 123 Main Street. Or,  house will be divided equally or house will be sold and proceeds divided equally.

If you list any type of real property the legal description of property is required on the divorce judgment.

So if it’s your home, obviously you can just get a copy of your deed, make a copy of that, and you will attach that behind the property order as a court will require that to be there to list the legal description

If you turn it in without the legal description, your judgment will be rejected.

Los Angeles County Family Centered Case Resolution Hearings

Posted by Tim Blankenship on

Los Angeles County Family Centered Case Resolution Hearings

Tim Blankenship here with Divorce661.com and what we’re answering in this video is what is Los Angeles County’s Family Centered case resolution hearings that you may see on your summary, on your case summary related to your divorce and this is only for Los Angeles County.

So what happened was people were filing for divorce thinking their divorce cases were finished and never had any communication from the court whatsoever in the past.

And then around 2013 they implemented this family-centered case resolution process. And it’s basically the court setting a hearing and they need to set a hearing at least once every hundred and eighty days in this is just to bring the case before the court to the court, can see what’s going on and then make any recommended solutions to moving your case forward either by sending notices out to come in and court or provide you updates of what needs to happen in order to finish your divorce so they don’t have so many cases not being finished by parties going through divorce on their own.

Santa Clarita Divorce | How To Divide Property In Amicable Divorce | Divorce661.com

Posted by Tim Blankenship on

Santa Clarita Divorce | How To Divide Property In Amicable Divorce | Divorce661.com

Tim Blankenship with Divorce661.com here and what we’re talking about in this video is how to divide up your property when going through an amicable divorce.

So, the first thing you should know is there are community property laws in California that you can find online that basically explain that anything you guys have acquired during the marriage is community property, which means it’s subject to being divided 50/50.

That said you know use that as the rule know that in making informed decisions but when going through an amicable divorce, you guys get to decide how you really want to do that. Not everything has to be divided down the middle. Each of you can keep your own assets and debts if you decide, that’s not a problem, it does not have to be equal division. The court is not looking for any level of fairness.

They assume if you go through an amicable divorce, we submit a full agreement on your behalf that you guys have notarized they assume you’re doing this knowingly in your best interest and they are completely fine with that.

They are going to accept it, your judgment will be approved and you guys get to call the shots. And that’s one of the biggest benefits of going through an amicable divorce in California.

How Do I Prepare For An Amicable Divorce | Santa Clarita Divorce | Divorce661.com

Posted by Tim Blankenship on

How Do I Prepare For An Amicable Divorce | Santa Clarita Divorce | Divorce661.com

Preparing for an amicable divorce is more of a mindset than anything else. The idea is that you want to make decisions in the overall best interest of both parties and not try to win or take advantage of the other party by dealing in good faith.

Tim Blankenship here with Divorce661.com and what we’re talking about in this video is how to prepare for an amicable divorce and this really is going to boil down to you and your spouse deciding that you will be amicable and how can you best achieve that some of the tips I would recommend would be like.

Number one, focus on the big picture. Look at the overall nature of the agreement, not each little individual items separately while you can look at it separately, consider them with the overall global Information that you have to utilize.

I would also say negotiate the terms of your divorce agreement in good faith. If you’re trying to win or get a better deal than your spouse and take advantage, that’s definitely not going to be beneficial to the amicable process.

And more importantly is if you have children create a good parenting plan that works for both of you and then which is done in the best interest of the minor children and that will significantly help you get through the amicable divorce process.

Uncontested Divorce Benefits | Santa Clarita Divorce | Divorce661.com

Posted by Tim Blankenship on

Uncontested Divorce Benefits | Santa Clarita Divorce | Divorce661.com

There are many benefits to going through an amicable, uncontested divorce in Santa Clarita.

VIDEO TRANSCRIPT

Tim Blankenship here with Divorce661.com And in this video I want to talk about the benefits of an uncontested divorce in California.

So there are several the first one would be cost it’s going to be much more cost-effective to go through a divorce through a service like ours in an uncontested fashion where we charge flat fees you don’t have to go to court.

There’s no attorney. Retainers there’s no trials and so forth that’s definitely benefit. Number one is going to be cost. Number two is the speed at which your uncontested divorce can get processed because There’s no court, we bypass all of that processing and go straight to the clerk’s office for approval.

So you’re divorce will be completed within just a couple of weeks to a month or so, obviously, it’s still six months before It’s official in the state of California with the cooling off period. But internally, we can get it done, much quicker.

And thirdly, you guys get to call the shots. You make all the decisions, all the terms of the agreement, there’s no court appearance, we process the entire case for you and it’s all done for one low flat fee.

Santa Clarita Divorce | Can You Get A Divorce Without Going To Court | Divorce661.com

Posted by Tim Blankenship on

Santa Clarita Divorce | Can You Get A Divorce Without Going To Court | Divorce661.com

Tim Blankenship here with Divorce661.com. And what we’re answering in this video is can you get a divorce without going to court? And the answer is absolutely. Yes,

100% of our clients, never have to go to court and here’s why the only people that go to court, are those people who are asking the judge to make a decision for them, in the form of a trial, or a hearing.

With our clients, you are in charge, you get to call the shots. You decide what the terms of your agreement are from custody, visitation child, support spousal support, property division. You guys call the shots.

We put you through the process and because we are submitting a full agreement to the court. It’s not even going to land on the judges desk. It’s going to land with the judicial assistant, who is going to just make sure the I’s are dotted, T’s were crossed, paperwork was done correctly.

Everything was covered and they see you guys have agreed notarized your judgment and it just gets literally rubber-stamped if everything’s good to go.

So, give us a call. If you have an amicable divorce anywhere in California.