Date Of Separation In California Divorce : What You Should Know

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Date Of Separation In California Divorce : What You Should Know

Hi, Tim Blankenship here with divorce661.com, been talking a lot about dates of separation in the last podcast.

I just talked about different ideas that you can use for the date of separation, most of the time our clients are in agreement to the date of separation but in this podcast, I want to talk about what is the significance of the date of the separation and I’m reading off an attorney’s website because I don’t like to give legal advice but I do want to share this information with you.

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So, let me share this, it says California uses a date of separation as the essential date for determining property interests, property acquired by a spouse after the date of separation is considered to be that spouses separate property, while property acquired before the date of separation is community property.

So, in plain English what that means is before the marriage anything you acquired is separate, during the marriage everything you acquired is community property, subject to division by the courts. So, the issues become people say Tim we don’t have anything in each other’s names, so we don’t have any property to divide.

In the state of California, they don’t look at whose name it’s in, they look at the date of acquisition of the asset or debt. So, like my wife and I, she can have her own bank accounts and pensions, and I can have mine totally separate, never shared, never anything even I can buy the car in my name and she does not appear anywhere on the car, at all on the title or the loan but it’s still community property, she still has an interest in that property.

Another example is with this business of mine, while she is not part of it, doesn’t work in it most of the time or at all, she has her own thing, she has a community property and it’s an interest in my business because it was started during the marriage and it made money during the marriage, so that’s how that works.

Now the significance of the date of separation is that once you file and you indicate a date of separation, that’s the line in the sand for the community property interest, so a lot of times there can be, and not with us most of our clients do agree on a date of separation but where parties disagree usually is around, you know when they’re getting close to the 10 year mark and they know they may have to pay spouse support for a longer period of time, or in the accrual of say community properties, such as pensions or so forth.

I’ll give you an example, if 1 party said well the date of separation was 2 years ago and the spouse is saying no the date of separation is last month, there’s what almost 2 years of additional acquisition or 2 more years of accrual of community property in the other parties with the pensions, meaning they would get more money if the date of separation was pushed closer to the future, or not the future but to today, to current times.

So if that happens there are tests that can be looked at in determining and again, we don’t deal with that too much in our office, it’s usually agreed upon but it can be full trials in court and divorce can be held over the issue of the date of separation because like I was saying it can be a big difference in the amount of community property one is awarded, it can also be a huge difference in as far as the length of marriage going over 10 years, where someone is trying to get support for an indefinite period of time as opposed to half the length of the marriage.

So, I’m not going to get into the exact details of the objective tests versus the subject tests because we don’t deal with that too much, but that’s something you can look at.

You can always give me a call if you have questions about determining the date of separation or read the article and listen to the podcast that I wrote on trying to figure out what an applicable date of separation would be.

In most cases, 90 percent of the time, it’s going to be obvious both of you will agree. It’s only in cases where one party is trying to establish a shorter period of time for purposes of financial gain.

Tim Blankenship, divorce661.com, hope that was helpful. Give us a call we do handle divorce cases throughout California, go to divorce661.com or give me a call at 661 281 0266 and we’ll talk to you soon.

California Child Support Modification : Stipulation To Modify Child Support

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California Child Support Modification : Stipulation To Modify Child Support

This article and video discusses child support modification in California. The topics covered are:

  1. What a stipulation of child support is
  2. What a modification of child support is
  3. Easiest way to modify child support
  4. Modifying Income Withholding Order
  5. Costs of Modifying child support via agreement
  6. How long the process of modifying child support takes

Below is the video and transcript.

Hi, Tim Blankenship here with divorce661.com and in this video, we’re talking about modifying child support and the easiest way of going about that.

I had a call yesterday, someone wanted me to run some numbers and by the way what we do is we take a look at the income of the parties, of the timeshare between the children and then punch in the income of the parties to determine what child support would look like and this is based on the court’s DissoMaster software, which we utilize.

So I got call and he said Tim I want to look at modifying the child support, we simply plugged in the information into the DissoMaster calculation and got the new number and it’s easy when the parties agree to modify child support and we talk to all of our clients about this, once we do have a current order, say the divorce is final, if they ever want to change the amount or see if the amount has changed.

I just need to know the income so I can run the report and see if it needs to be modified and the easiest way to modify it is through a stipulation.

A stipulation just means agreement and all I do is draft a 3 to 4 page written document that basically modifies the current order for support and indicates how much it will be, on what date it will be changed and for what children it’s in regards too.

It’s pretty straightforward, it takes me just a hour or so to prepare the document, there’s no court involved, there is just a 20 dollar court filing fee, to file it with the court and it usually takes a couple of weeks to get that filed and if you have an attached income withholding order to your child support.

We would also need to prepare either a termination order or an amended income withholding order so we can get both the stipulation signed by the judge as well as the income withholding order, changing the amount so we can get that to your employer if money is being taken out directly of your check, we can do that all simultaneously.

So, Tim Blankenship divorce661.com give me a call if you have any questions, need help with your divorce in California. Thanks so much for watching.

How To Get A Nullity Of Marriage In California

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How To Get A Nullity Of Marriage In California

Hi, Tim Blankenship here with divorce661.com, today we’re talking about the rules for a nullity for marriage in California, so we’re talking about annulments.

Every once in a while, you know we do thousands of divorce cases a year and every once in a while, we’ll get a call for someone asking, saying they want to get a nullity and in most cases they’re asking for a nullity because they have been married for a short period of time, maybe a couple of weeks, a couple of months or something like and that and realized it was a mistake.

Now if you watch the TV, and you watch programs on TV, one I can think of particularly, oh gosh I’m trying to remember the name of it but basically they were in Vegas, they got married and the next day they said oh we want to get a nullity, do you do a nullities, oh the movie was the Hangover and maybe in Vegas this is true, where you can just go and have your divorced nullified because it was a mistake and short term marriage but in California that’s not the case.

Time does not matter or I should say shortness of time, or the shortness of the marriage is not considered an issue or reason for a nullity. So, the reason I’m bringing this up is on top of getting a few calls a year for a nullity, I got a call this week and the gal said look we got married 4 days ago and we want to have our marriage nullified, we decided that it was a mistake and the wrong thing to do and again, I had to explain her that the time lapse is not a reason for a nullity in the state of California.

Here are the reasons, there are 6 specific reasons you can ask the marriage to be voided and they usually aren’t going to be applicable.

Number 1 is petitioner’s age at time of registration of domestic partnership or marriage, so this means the party filing for the annulment was then say under 18 at the time of the marriage or domestic partnership, so basically unable to enter into a legal contract essentially.

Prior existing marriage, okay this is the only one we’ve actually ever had nullities approved on and what this is, is if you get married newly and you never finalize your divorce on your 1st marriage, you can have this new marriage voided and nullified because there is a preexisting marriage, that’s the one that we’ve used the most, or I should say the only one we’ve used.

The next one, unsound mind, so it’s either party was of unsound mind or unable to understand the nature of the marriage or domestic partnership including the obligations that come with it, so this is going to be possibly the Vegas, you go to Vegas, got drunk and woke up and married the next day, you could say you’re of unsound mind but that’s going to be difficult to prove and, by the way all of these reasons have to be approved by a court, none of these are like divorce, where it’s uncontested or irreconcilable differences, you have to actually go to a hearing and prove to the court that this is valid and the judge has to make the order on it, and many times what the court will do is they will dismiss the nullity and they’ll just make it a divorce.

Okay number 4 fraud, it says either party got married or registered the domestic partnership as a result of fraud, the fraud must have been about something vital to the relationship it directly affected, why the party who was deceived agreed to the marriage or domestic partnership and some of the examples it says are marrying only to get a green card and the ability to have children.

Number 5, force, either party consented to getting married or filing into this partnership as a result of force okay.

And the 6th one is physical incapacity and what they’re referring to it says, the parties got married or registered a domestic partnership while one of them was physically incapacitated and in parenthesis is say basically it means that one of the spouses or partners was physically incapable of consummating the relationship, so this goes back to the old world of if you can’t get your spouse pregnant that the marriage is invalid, it’s very old school but still very on the books apparently.

So that’s the 6 reasons and again time is not a factor when asking for a nullity in California, you simply would have to get divorced. So for the gal that called me the other day I had to break the news that despite being married only 4 days and being very young, that they’re going to have to get divorced as opposed to nullifying the marriage, just have to chalk it up to a life lesson unfortunately.

Tim Blankenship divorce661.com specializing in California divorce, we can help you anywhere in California, feel free to give us a call 661 281 0266 and we’ll talk to you soon.

Still Living Together But Getting Want A Divorce In California

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Still Living Together But Getting Want A Divorce In California

Hi, Tim Blankenship here with divorce661.com. Today we’re talking about the fact of people getting divorced but who are still living together, 1st off let me say that this is very common.

The reason that I want to say that this is very common is because people call and they say Tim, we were going to get divorced but we’re still actually living together, we’re not separated. So, I want to let you know that’s, I don’t want to say the majority of time but maybe 50 percent of the time, people are still living together and for a variety of reasons you’re living together and you have decided to get divorced, of course you haven’t separated, some people do.

It just depends on where you’re at in the decision making process and a lot of times its financial related, you guys haven’t made the decisions financially on how this is going to look maybe through spouse support, or selling of the house or purchasing new homes or renting or moving on with your life, so many times it’s not practical to be physically separated.

In California, you do not have to be physically separated to file for divorce, it’s not that like in some other states but in California you can still live in the same home and not be physically separated, you don’t have to have any trial separations or anything like that in California, other states you do.

In California when you file for divorce you will state a date of separation, you’re going to say that we separated on this date or maybe we talked about separation on a particular date but if there is no other date in mind, because people say Tim what’s our date of separation, we’re not separated.

So if there is no date in the past that you would call your date of separation, then generally what we do is just have the date of filing or the date that you signed the petition as your date of separation, because you do need to have a date of separation on your divorce petition when you go to file it.

So as far as examples of what you could use for a date of separation, aside from the date of filing, you could use a date that maybe you started sleeping on the couch, maybe just a day that you guys set down at the kitchen table and discussed getting divorced and you agreed upon it.

Maybe, I don’t know you could have started sleeping elsewhere 1 or 2 days a week, there could have been something that happened that you say yeah on this is the date, the date of separation however, if no date stands out in your mind we simply use the date of separation as a date of filing of the petition or signing of the petition and that would become your date of separation.

For more information just give me a call, Tim at 661 281 0266 or you can go to divorce661.com for more information.

FL-150 : When Does It Need To Be Filed : California Divorce

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FL-150: When Does It Need To Be Filed: California Divorce

Hi Tim Blankenship here with divorce661.com and in this video, we’re talking about the income and expense declaration and whether or not it needs to be filed. So, when you go through a divorce you have to do your financial disclosures, this is an income and expense and schedule of assets and debts.

You’ll notice on the FL 142 which is a schedule of assets and debts, it says this form is not filed with the court, it’s just to be exchanged between the parties and that’s fine.

The income and expense declaration however makes it appear as if it needs to be filed because there is a place for a stamp and all of that good stuff, so what I want people to know and my interests is in having our clients of course and anyone watching these videos, give the court as little information as possible because potentially this is public record, so if you don’t necessarily want your finances out in the open for someone to go pull a copy of your income and expense declaration to see what you do or how much you make or your bills and so forth, there are certain circumstances where the income and expense does not need to be filed.

Primarily it is when there are no minor children, if there are no minor children in your divorce the income and expense declaration is not required to be filed. You’re still going to prepare it and exchange it as part of the mandatory preliminary disclosure process but you do not have to file it if there are not minor children and the alternative.

I get the same question people who have children and maybe have an agreement for support or don’t want child support, they ask Tim why do we have to still do the income and expense. It’s just a mandatory form when there are minor children but if there are no minor children, you do not need to file the income and expense declaration. Tim Blankenship, divorce661.com, thanks so much for watching.

Property Division Issues With California Default Divorce Cases

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California Default Divorce Property Division Issues

Hi, Tim Blankenship here with divorce661.com and today we’re talking about the different styles of divorce procedurally and in this case, were talking about a default divorce.

A default in this case, a true default where the respondent does not respond nor do they participate or do anything what so ever. So, when you’re going through a default style divorce where the other party is not going to participate at all there is a particular way you need to file your divorce petition and in doing so essentially, when you file your petition you literally have to prepare it as if you are preparing your judgment in essence, meaning because the other party is not going to be involved.

If there is assets and debts when you file the petition you have to also include your FL 160 property declarations and you have to write down every single asset and debt, just like you would on the judgment or marital settlement agreement, to include how each community property asset and separate property asset and debt are going to be divided and the majority of time you’re going to have to divide everything 50/50.

So I tell people the true default divorce cases should be as a last resort, we should always try and get the cooperation of the other party and in fact that’s what we have our clients do, if they say Tim we’re doing a default I ask why, they say well we don’t want to have to file the response and pay the other fee.

I say then fine we’ll do a default with agreement the other party can be involved, it will keep you out of court and it’s much easier and you have the latitude to be able to make decisions regarding the division of assets and debts, as opposed to just going the 50 50 route, as would be required on a default because the courts have to follow California law.

So I know that’s a lot of information that I went over quickly but at the end of the day, let’s say you file for divorce and you didn’t put any assets or debts on the petition, let’s say you said to be amended or will update as we go, then let’s say the case turns into a default meaning the other party is not going to participate.

In that case you’re going to have to amend your petition and then attach your property declarations and then refile it and reserve it so, you basically have to start over if it turns into a default unless you knew it was going to be a default from the onset.

So, if you have any questions on this please give me a call, we do handle divorce cases throughout California, divorce661.com or give me a call 661 281 0266. Thanks for listening.

California Divorce : How To List Assets & Debts On Judgment

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This article and video discusses how we suggest you prepare your judgment and how to list your assets and debts on your California Divorce Judgment. If you want to protect as much as your privacy as possible when going through divorce in California then make sure to read and or watch this video.

Hi, Tim Blankenship here with divorce661.com and in this video, we’re talking about the preparation of the judgment, which is the marital settlement agreement, it goes by a couple of different names, your divorce decree is another name it’s known by and what we’re talking about specifically is what information do the courts need minimally to process your judgment in regard to the division of your assets and debts.

So, what a lot of people don’t know is the courts don’t require values on your assets and debts in your judgment. In fact, they don’t even require full account numbers, so with our clients we want to protect as much of the privacy as we can, knowing that divorce cases are technically public record.

Someone could walk in, ask to have your named checked at the computer and pull your divorce decree and we don’t recommend that someone pull a divorce decree or judgment or marital settlement agreement that reflects all of the assets each of the parties are keeping, all of the debts and many times we’ll see people listing their full account numbers, the name of the bank, you know Bank of America, VISA, full account number.

I mean that’s basically giving people the full information on all your accounts, so with our judgments all we turn in, in regard to the property division is the name of the bank, so Bank of America and the last 4 digits of the account 1234, whatever it might be.

That goes for assets, that could be say a pension or a bank account and it would be of a checking account 1234 that’s it, you do not need to provide values, you do not need to provide full account numbers and people are surprised by that because we want to protect your privacy as much as possible.

So, your property order, your division of assets and debts is just literally going to be a list of things you’re keeping as far as assets and debts and the same for your spouse.

Tim Blankenship, divorce661.com helping people across California with their California divorce. Give us a call if you need any assistance 661 281 0266 and I hope this video is helpful and have a great day.

Another Happy Divorce 661 Client : Divorce Finalized!

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While we have great reviews on social media channels such as Yelp and Facebook, etc., many of the compliments we received never make it into the public eye.

And I get it, when it comes to divorce not everybody wants to leave a public review about divorce!

We get lots of emails and phone calls with clients thanking us, but who don’t necessarily want to leave a public review. Below is one such email we received that I was able to capture to be able to share with you all.

You see, our clients are very happy when we finalize their divorce. I think it is just about being relieved that it is over… Finally.

I say finally, because many people call us after trying to do their own California divorce and spending months and months and not making any progress.

This was the case with this client. She had tried to do her own divorce and spent several months. Her case was rejected time and time again.

When she came to us, her file was a mess. I mean mess in that there were wrong documents filed and some not filed at all. The worst part was that the way the divorce was started, made it difficult to finalize so we had to be creative.

But in the end we got the job done.

At least half the business we get in new clients are folks that have first attempted to do their own California divorce. This is fine, i get it, you are trying to save some money. But what you probably didn’t realize was the amount of time and effort you were going to have to put into trying to do your own divorce.

So if you find yourself in this situation, just give us a call. We can pick up where you left off with your divorce and get everything wrapped up for you.

Not Living With Spouse During California Divorce? How To Sign Divorce Papers

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Hi, Tim Blankenship here with divorce661.com. This is just a quick tip for you.

Many of our clients live in different parts of the state or even different parts of the country. Let’s say we start a divorce case and one party lives in Southern California and the other party lives Northern California or even another part of the country, in Texas or anywhere for that matter.

I’m often asked, “Tim we live in different places. Can we sign separate sets of paperwork?”

When we get your divorced finalized where all the paperwork is ready to be signed. It has your judgment, your settlement agreement, all of your procedural documentation, many of the forms have signatures for both parties needed on the same page.

The question becomes, can we sign separate sets or do we need to round Robin all the paperwork?

So, although a round Robin would also work, meaning you sign it, you send it to your spouse, they sign it, they send it back to me and we finalize it. That’s fine, but it’s easier and just chances for papers being lost or paperwork getting lost in the mail, we say just sign separate sets.

What we’ll do is when we have clients in 2 locations, we’ll send out 1 set of paperwork to both parties either by mail or by email and say go ahead and sign on your end and we’ll just combine the forms when they get here. So, say there’s a form that requires both party’s signatures on the same page, we’ll just stack them. We’ll have the petitioner’s form on top with their signature and then the respondent’s signature on the next page.

Yes, it makes the judgment a little bit thicker than normal, but it’s totally acceptable by the courts, so you don’t have to both sign the same form. It’s easier to sign separate forms and we’ll just combine them in office.

Tim Blankenship, divorce661.com. Hope this is helpful. Give us a call if you need help with your divorce anywhere in California. 661 281 0266 or just go to divorce661.com for more information. Thanks so much for watching.

Where Do You File Your Divorce If You Live In Santa Clarita?

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Hi, Tim Blankenship with divorce661.com, specializing in California divorce. This video is about the family law division of the Santa Clarita Superior Court.

We don’t have one.

In Santa Clarita, we do have a court obviously, but we do not have family law. A lot of clients call me and say Time, I tried to go down to the courthouse and they said we don’t do family law here. If you are living in Santa Clarita, your case will be filed in Chatsworth.

That is our local branch court. You think after all these years and as big as we have become, we would have our own family law division, especially since when I worked at the superior court, they said Santa Clarita and it was evident, provides the most divorce cases for the entire San Fernando Valley. So, we are just a subset that goes to Chatsworth and we are the ones that keep them busy.

Again, because I worked there in the past, I can tell you, that is true. So, if you live in Santa Clarita, there’s no court here for your family law case. You have to go all the way down to Chatsworth. If you’re looking for assistance for your divorce case, that’s what we do.

We handle divorce cases on a mediated style, as a paralegal firm here in Santa Clarita. I’ll be happy to help you with your divorce case. Give us a call with any questions. 661 281 0266 or go to divorce661.com for more information. Thanks so much for watching.