I Found Your California Divorce Service On YouTube

Posted by Tim Blankenship on

Whenever people call me, I always make sure to ask how they heard about our California divorce service.  I know the answer is going to be “online”, but now that we have over 300 videos on Youtube, the answer we are getting more and more is, “I found you on Youtube”.

Youtube has been a great outlet for getting the California divorce information out to people.  We have always had the mindset that we should not be fearful of giving people free information.

Others in this industry feel that by giving out free information or telling people how to do something will result in not getting their business.

I think it is exactly the opposite.  But I don’t want to encourage others to do what I am doing as I am doing quite well being the only player, for the most part, giving out helpful information about California divorce on Youtube and other video channels.

We are glad people are finding us on Youtube and watching our videos.  We see that we are getting about 200 views per day which isn’t bad considering we are talking about a very narrow subject of divorce.

Our videos are mostly instructional, how to fill out forms and information about the divorce process, etc., so we are not expecting any of our YouTube videos to go viral, but we are satisfied when someone calls us saying they found us on Youtube and then decides to use our service.

So we encourage you to watch our videos on our Youtube channel.  Here is the link https://www.youtube.com/user/divorce661/videos

You can also watch our divorce videos by clicking on the navigation button on this website under “Videos”.

If you have any questions about divorce in California please make sure to give us a call.  We are able to help prepare your divorce case anywhere in California and are headquartered in Santa Clarita, California, just outside of Los Angeles.

 

Have You Asked A Divorce Question On AVVO.com

Posted by Tim Blankenship on

If you are ever doing research or looking for information about divorce in California, you may come across a website called Avvo (dot) com.  I have found this site to be nothing more than lead generation tool for attorneys and not a resource for valuable information.

They say they are an expert only question and answer forum where people can ask legal questions of lawyers for free.  It is true that you can ask questions for free.  And attorneys will even answer the questions….  Or will they?

I read the answers that the divorce attorneys give and they are laughable.  I say this because their answers are so generic that they lack any real value.

It seems that the only reason that the attorneys are part of Avvo is so they can get their name in front of people looking for advice so they can hopefully get their business.  Attorneys are afraid that if they give the answer, the client will never need them.

This is so far from the truth.

I give out information all the time on how to complete the divorce process.  Some of the people use me and others are so grateful for the information, they end up using my service.

I have to admit that some of the questions asked by folks are not clear and therefore they do not get a clear answer, but I did a little test of my own.

I posted a very specific question that would require a very specific answer.

The answers not only did not give any helpful advice, but the attorneys that did answer ended their reply with “I suggest that you speak to an attorney for assistance”.

What you will notice throughout avvo is that all the attorneys will say you need to speak to an attorney.  So it appears that there is no real help to be obtained here, rather just a trap to get attorneys in front of you.

I am sure the divorce attorneys are paying a pretty penny to be a part of the forums being promised they can get clients from responding to potential clients needs.  I have a feeling nobody is getting what they thought they were getting.

We are a licensed and bonded divorce document preparation service that specializes in divorce.  If you have a question about divorce, feel free to call us.  You can find lots of information on this blog or by watching our videos.

We are headquartered in Santa Clarita, California and can help you with your divorce anywhere in California.

Terminating Spousal Support On Long Term Marriage | California Divorce

Posted by Tim Blankenship on

We handle a lot of divorce cases in California every month an so come across a lot of different issues.

If you do your homework, you will learn that California considers any marriage over 10 years to be of long term.  As this pertains to spousal support, the Courts say that long term marriages have indefinite jurisdiction over spousal support.

What this means is that the Court will have the jurisdiction to award Spousal Support indefinitely when the marriage is over 10 years.

So here is the question.

  1. How do you terminate spousal support on long term marriages when the parties agree that they want to do so?

First, I must state that we are not a law office and not attorneys.  We just process a high volume of divorce cases in California. We cannot recite the law or give advice, we are simply explaining what we have come across and how we have handled it.

So for the first question.  How to terminate spousal support on long term marriages when the parties agree.  What we have done is to have both the parties sign a waiver. This is a waiver we drafted and include it in the judgment on the spousal support order part of the judgment.

We simply make sure to cover the reasons spousal support can normally be requested or modified.  We say the parties agree to terminate spousal support and that the order terminating spousal support is non-modifiable by either party for any reason and that regardless of future needs of spousal support or ability to pay spousal support, the court cannot make orders for spousal support.

If the parties stipulate to terminate spousal support on long term marriages, the courts will generally sign off on this.

Depending on the Court, they may reject the judgment.  We have had some Judges state that they will not approve agreements that violate the law.  They have told us that in long term marriages, the Court will retain jurisdiction indefinitely, you remarry or die.

So it appears it will depend on the Judge if you can get them to approve the judgment terminating spousal support on your long term marriage.

If you find your judgment getting rejected for this reason, one last thing you can do is file a motion (Request For Order) to enter judgment.  In the motion you can request the court grant your judgment to terminate spousal support.  You and your spouse can attend the hearing and explain to the court that you are willingly giving up this right.

We would love to hear any feedback from folks who have done this or attorneys who have had other successes.

We are a licensed and bonded legal document preparation firm that specializes in divorce.  We are headquartered in Los Angeles, CA and serve all the Courts in California.

California Divorce | Is It Okay To Live With Spouse During Divorce?

Posted by Tim Blankenship on

If you are considering getting divorced in California, you may be wondering if it is okay to live with your spouse while your are going through the divorce process.

This really depends upon the reason you are asking.  First, it may be by pure necessity that you continue to live with your spouse during the divorce process.

We are a licensed divorce document preparation firm that specializes in affordable California divorces and many of our clients continue to live with their spouses for financial reasons.  They just don’t have the ability to live separately until they get the divorce finanlized.  These couples will generally just maintain the status quo until their California divorce is completed.

If you are asking this question from a legal sense, we are not really going to address this.  If you are asking the question this way, you are probably wondering if  by living with your spouse, it will void the date of separation for purposes of community and separate property.  We are not going to address the legality of it from that viewpoint.

What you should know is that you can live together and still be separated.  You do not have to be living in separate homes to be considered separated.  There are some states that requires that but in California there is no requirement that you actually move out into separate homes.  It could just be that one of you sleeps on the couch or in another bedroom.

Because we are  not a law firm, most of our clients are attempting to work through their divorce as amicable as possible.  Most of them still live together out of necessity and will are working towards a resolution on how they are going to make it financially when they actually separate and their divorce is concluded.

So the answer is yes, it is okay to live with your spouse when you are getting divorced.  I have even had some clients complete their divorce and still live together.  Probably not the ideal scene, but I think you get the point.

We are a licensed divorce document preparation firm that specialized in California divorce.  Please give us a call to learn more about our fixed fee divorce pricing.

Are You Frustrated By California Divorce Process

Posted by Tim Blankenship on

If you are frustrated by the California Divorce process, you are not alone.  Tens of thousands of people attempt to complete their own divorce every year and most will fail.

They do not fail for lack of trying or intellect.  They fail because they do not have the time to commit fully to understanding the California divorce process.

Most have busy families and of course are working a full time job.  They just don’t have the time to commit to fully learning the process, thus do a half-ass job on the divorce paperwork.  These are legal forms that have to be done exactly.  Make one mistake and you not only have to redo the divorce form, but now have to re-file and re-serve.  A process that frustrates many.

Most of the people we have spoke to have admitted trying to complete their California divorce forms after they have come home form work, spent time with the family, made dinner and put the kids to bed.

It is now 11 pm, your exhausted and the last thing you need to do is try to sit down at your computer and attempt to fill out complex legal forms and read complex instructions on how to complete your divorce.  Trust me when I say we hear this all the time.

Instead of becoming frustrated by the process, why not instead use a professional divorce service that can take the stress away from you.  We are a full service California divorce document preparation firm.

This means that we will prepare all your divorce forms, file them with the court and prepare your final divorce agreement and judgment.

Our divorce service works off a flat fee basis, so you know what your costs are going to be right from the beginning.

Don’t get frustrated trying to prepare your California Divorce. Instead, give us a call and let the professionals handle your California Divorce for you.

We are a licensed and bonded legal document preparation firm specializing in California divorce and are headquartered in Santa Clarita, CA.

We Assist With Paternity Request For Orders & Responses | Santa Clarita Divorce

Posted by Tim Blankenship on

Lately we had been doing a lot of motions for divorce in California , so I thought I would share with you the different types of divorce motions we have been helping people with.

When were talking about divorce motions were talking about what is known as request for orders. They used to be called order to show cause.

You can file a motion for a variety of reasons, and these motions can be either temporary or permanent, depending on when you file the motion.

For instance, if your divorce case is still pending and you file a request for order the orders he received from the court are generally going to be temporary until final judgment is entered in your case. If you divorce is already been finalized and you need to file a motion post-judgment, these orders will generally be permanent until further order of the court .

In the past few weeks, we have completed several motions for clients.

The first one a lot talk about was a paternity case. A paternity case is one where a couple has a child, but they are not technically married. In this particular case, the father had not seen the child for several years. Out of the blue the father decides he wants to see his son hires an attorney and files a motion for child custody and visitation.

The mother called our office and asked us what she could do as she did not want the father, who had not seen the sun for several years, get the requested orders he was asking for.

We had her come in and reviewed the motion he had filed with the court. After reviewing the fathers declaration. We spoke to our client and asked her regarding the truthfulness of fathers claims. We then drafted a declaration in support of mothers request to deny father’s request for child custody and visitation.

Basically what you have to do when filing a response to motion is to go line by line and address the other party’s claims and state your version of the facts. And that is what we did in this case. We went line by line and addressed the issues. The father had claimed and then inserted the facts as mother presented them.

Once we’re done drafting the declaration. We may have served a copy to the father’s attorney and filed a motion with the court.

When the mother went to the hearing, she was able to successfully have the father’s request for child custody and visitation denied based on a variety of reasons that we had discussed in her responsive declaration.

Obviously, this client was very satisfied with our service in preparing her responsive declaration for a paternity case. Of course we can never promise any particular result when we help you prepare a motion or response to a motion in your paternity or divorce case.

This is just one of the cases that we assisted on this week we are currently working on three more motions or responses for our clients.

If you need to file a motion for child custody, child visitation, spousal support, child support or make any other requests you doing your divorce, while it is still pending, or after your divorce is concluded, we can help you.

We are licensed and bonded legal document preparation firm specializing in divorce in the Santa Clarita Valley. We serve all the Los Angeles courts and can assist you with your divorce case.

Please feel free to give us a call at 661-281-0266 so we can discuss the issues at hand so we can determine if we can help you through your divorce matter.

California Spousal Support | What You Need To Know About Spousal Support In California

Posted by Tim Blankenship on

California Spousal Support | What You Need To Know About Spousal Support In California

We have many clients that have questions about Spousal Support.  When going through divorce in California, it is important that you understand how Spousal Support works.

Watch this quick video that discusses spousal support.

Do You Have These Questions About Spousal Support?

  • How Does Spousal Support Work?
  • How is Spousal Support Determined?
  • Can I Get Spousal Support
  • Will I Have To Pay Spousal Support
  • How Much Spousal Support Will I Have To Pay?

How Spousal Support Works And Is Determined

Spousal Support is determined by 2 things.

  1. Income of the parties
  2. Length of Marriage
  3. Need for support

Spousal support calculations can be complex, but at the basic level, this is what is boils down to.

Basic Rules of Spousal Support

  • If you make more money than your spouse, you may have to pay Spousal Support
  • If your marriage is longer than 10 years, the court can retain jurisdiction over spousal support for ever
  • In most cases, the parties can agree to waive spousal support

How Is Spousal Support Determined

As mentioned above, spousal support is determined by how long the marriage was, how much each of the parties make and if there is a need for spousal support.

The Court uses a program called a “Dissomaster” which runs a calculation to determine how much spousal support will be.  The resulting dollar amount is called “Guideline spousal support”.  This means it is simply a guideline.  The parties can agree to more or less Spousal Support than the Guideline amount.

We Can Help You Determine Spousal Support

We are a licensed and bonded divorce document preparation firm.  We specialize in helping clients get through divorce without attorneys and offer a flat fee divorce service.

Part of our services is to help you determine how much spousal support will be if you plan on paying or receiving spousal support.  As mentioned above, you can always decide to waive spousal support.

Your decision to waive spousal support is up to the parties.

We Have The Courts Dissomaster Program

One of the hardest things you will find is that there is no way to get your hands on a Dissomaster report without calling a divorce attorney.  We have found that divorce attorneys are charging $250 just to run a simple Dissomaster spousal support calculation.

Well we have the dissomaster program and running spousal support calculations are part of our flat fee service.

When you work with our divorce service to prepare your divorce case, we will include a dissomaster printout (which is required by the way) when you are going through a divorce in California.  This includes even when you are asking the court to waive spousal support.

Call Us Today!

If you are considering a divorce and want to save thousands of dollars by not hiring an attorney, please give us a call.  We have helped 1,000’s of people complete their divorce without the need for attorneys.

You can reach us at 661-281-0266.

Information You Need To File For Divorce In California | Santa Clarita Divorce Service

Posted by Tim Blankenship on

Many people feel that they need to have everything figured out regarding their divorce before they file.  This is not true.

In this post, we will discuss the basic information and forms you need to file your case in California.

The first form you will need is the Petition.  This is form FL-100 and will contain most of the information about your requests and statistical information about your marriage.  Here is the information you need to complete the Petition for divorce.

  1. Your name, address and phone number
  2. Your spouses name address and phone number
  3. Date of marriage
  4. Date of separation
  5. Children’s names, date of birth and city & state they were born
  6. Your requests for legal and physical custody of the children
  7. Who is going to pay attorney fees?
  8. Do you want spousal support?
  9. Do you want to pay spousal support?

That is all the information you need to file the divorce Petition in California.

Next is the divorce summons.  This form only contains your name and address. It is fairly straight forward and does not even require a signature.

Depending on what county you file for divorce in, there will be some kind of case assignment sheet.  They go by different names.   It may be called a “Family Law Case Cover Sheet” or “Notice of Case Assignment”  All it is for is to let the court know where you reside so they can make sure you are filing in the proper court.

The last form you will need is the UCCJEA.  This form wants to know the names of your children and where they have lived for the last 5 years.  The court also wants to know if there are any other cases involving your minor children.

So there are only 3 forms you need to file for divorce.  There are 4 if you have children.

You don’t need much information to file for divorce in California.

When you use our Santa Clarita divorce service, these are the first set of divorce forms we will complete for you and which will be filed with the court and served on your spouse.

We are a licensed and bonded legal document preparation firm that specializes in divorce.  Please give us a call for more information.

Be Aware Of California Divorce Form Changes Effective 7/1/2013

Posted by Tim Blankenship on

If you are in the midst of going through your divorce, you need to be aware that the California divorce forms have been changed as of July 1, 2013.

Not all the forms are changed, but there were some significant changes that will cause you problems if you use the old California divorce forms after this latest update was completed.

The California divorce forms are updated approximately 2 times per year.  There is not generally much notice and we usually find out by receiving our software update disks from our forms provider.

Watch the below video where we discuss a couple of the changes surrounding the disclosures requirements.

I have not had a chance to go through all the California divorce form changes yet, but did want to discuss what we have found thus far.

This relates to the declaration of disclosures which are required to be done in all California Divorce cases.

The courts are now saying that when you complete your preliminary declaration of disclosure in your California divorce case, you will also need to serve 2 years of tax returns.  Some of the divorce courts in California had already required that, but this is a change for us in Los Angeles County.

Now onto the next issue with the changes.  This is addressed to anyone considering using an online divorce form preparation company.  I’m talking about the online divorce form companies that charge you a fee and say they will send you the forms.

In almost all cases, they never update their divorce forms.  They are trying to provide divorce forms to every state in the U.S. and it is too costly to keep up with all the form revisions.

So what they do is send outdated form to you. I can’t tell you how many people call me after being scammed by one of these online California divorce form companies and could not get their paperwork accepted by the court and were faced with multiple rejections of their divorce paperwork.

I have written many articles on the topic of why you should not use an online divorce form company.  I have literally beat it into the ground.  But I am just one person trying to get the word out.

If you’re reading this, please make sure to use a licensed and bonded legal document preparation company.  That is what we do.  This way you know that you are getting someone who is certified to provide legal services and has all the updated and proper divorce forms.

Another Scam For Cheap And Fast Divorce Services In California

Posted by Tim Blankenship on

I can’t tell you how many times I have written articles about folks being scammed by online divorce services.  But I swore to write a new article every time I get a call from another person telling me their horror stories.  So here it goes.

This person decided they wanted to get their divorce completed cheap and fast.  So what did she do?  She Googled “Cheap and fast divorce”

The company that came up, which I won’t go as far to say, told her that they would complete her divorce for a flat fee. The website said the cost was $150.  But when she was getting ready to pay, they told her it was going to be closer to $399.  So she paid the fee and thought all was well.

A few weeks later she received the divorce forms and they were totally blank.  I am going to say that again. The divorce forms were completely blank. Meaning not even her name was on them.

So what she was told on the phone and what she received were two different things.  She literally spent $400 on forms that she could have gotten for free on the internet.

To add insult to injury, she later found that they had charged her close to $600 for the divorce forms she received that were totally worthless.

When she called the company to let them know about the over charge, they informed here that there are regulatory fees that they have to charge by law that they don’t have any control over.

Are you serious?  Regulatory fees?  What a total scam.

I advised her to make a claim with her credit card company and to report the actions of the company.

Sadly, I had to tell her that the documents she received were not worth a single penny. In fact, a review of the documents she received were not even the updated or correct forms the Los Angeles Courts are using.

If you are searching for cheap and fast divorce services in California, just remember that there is a lot of fraud in this industry and on the internet.

We are a licensed and bonded legal document preparation company that specializes in divorce in California.  Please give us a call for more information about our divorce services of just to share your story of how you were scammed when searching for cheap and fast divorce services.