4 Things Self Represented Santa Clarita Divorce Clients Need To Know

Posted by Tim Blankenship on

Today I was reading a great article that came up while I was on my Santa Clarita Divorce Google Plus page that was called, “Top 4 Things People Representing Themselves Need To Know”, that I wanted to share and was relevant to my clients in Santa Clarita.

The article was written by a Family Law Attorney in Phoenix and gives some great information that applies to anyone representing themselves in Court, be it in Arizona or California.

You can click on the link now for the full article, “Top 4 Things People Representing Themselves Need To Know” and I will summarize below.

In the article they mentioned that you need to be aware of the fact that you are emotionally tied to your own case and this may make it difficult to effectively present your case.  I know that the clients we help prepare for court are also a little bit nervous about what will happen at the hearing and what they should say.

We have worked for the courts and sat in the Court rooms so we are able to  give you a good idea on how the proceeding are held.

Here are the 4 Things Self Represented Clients Need To Know, per the Hernandez Family Law Firm in Phoenix, Arizona.

First, you will be held to the same standards as an attorney.  You can simply not use the excuse that you did not know.  While this is true, I know of a lot of cases where this really depends on the judge and and some of our clients have gotten away with quite a bit that attorneys would never get away with.

Second, they say you should not file a ton of motions in your case.  I agree with this.  They provided some great reasons on why, but I would also add that you have to realize that the Judges are reading hundreds of declarations a day and the more clear and precise your motions are, the better chance the Judge will understand your point.

The third reason they mentioned, we briefly covered which was to keep your emotions in check.  This can prove difficult.  There is often a lot at stake.  That is why having an attorney is often more effective, because they are not personally affected by the results.

And finally, they say not to argue with the Judge.  Aside from it being unprofessional, as indicated in their article, I would add that you are taking a risk that the Judge holds it against you.  After all, they are human beings.

Thanks to Wendy Hernandez for providing this valuable information.

We specialize in California divorce and are headquartered in Santa Clarita, CA.

Our Love – Hate Relationship With YELP – Santa Clarita Divorce Reviews

Posted by Tim Blankenship on

There are lots of stories on the internet about how people, mostly business owners, hate YELP.  And there appears to be a good reason to hate them.

We work hard to deliver great customer service to our clients and we like to be rewarded with positive reviews.  It is important as social proof when our clients leave us a positive review because folks considering using our service look to those reviews when deciding on using our service.

As of this writing, we have Ten (10) Five Star Reviews on Yelp.  However, Yelp has decided to “filter out” half of them, leaving us with only 5 reviews.  In fact, this “filter” has kept us at 5 reviews for a long time.  Almost like there is a cap on how many reviews they will allow to be posted.

I find it a bit suspicious.  A review that seemed to make it through the filter for months, will suddenly be filtered out when a new review is posted.

What is frustrating is that all our reviews are legitimate customer reviews.  Yelp says that their filter is there is filter out certain reviews so that only credible reviews are shown.  How is it then that we have reviews show up for months and then suddenly drop off when we get another great review.

And I have one more thing to add, and it may be a coincidence, but just after a salesperson from Yelp called asking for us to spend over $300 per month in advertising with them, which i refused, we began seeing more of our reviews become filtered.

Now, let’s talk about the positive side of Yelp.  Lot’s of people go to Yelp looking for reviews on business’s.  But, more importantly, they rank really well on the search engines.

So when you search for businesses on Google, they will generally come up on the first page.  So I am sure we are getting some free traffic from Yelp that we may not ordinarily be getting.

I just wanted to share our love- hate relationship with Yelp.  I may advertise with them in the future, but not because I think they will release our reviews that are being held hostage.

Where do you weigh in on Yelp? Has it helped or hurt your business?

Things To Do In Santa Clarita – Get A Divorce!

Posted by Tim Blankenship on

Things To Do In Santa Clarita – Get A Divorce!

What? I can’t believe that you would write an article about things to do in Santa Clarita and then say “get a divorce” as the answer.

But it is true.  I didn’t say things your want to do in Santa Clarita, I just said things to do in Santa Clarita.

It is a fact that folks are getting divorced in record numbers these days.  Depending on what you read, it is estimated that as much as 50% to 70% of the population will at some point get divorced.

At first, this seems like a huge number, and it is. It almost seems unbelievable, but if you really think about it, it really isn’t.

I know that a lot of my friends have gotten a divorce.  I know that more of my daughters friends are divorced than married.  Think about your own friends and friends of your children who are divorced.  The numbers are really up there.

Divorce is certainly not something that you want to do.  But if it is going to happen, you need to make sure you understand how divorce works.  That is why we write these types of articles.  We want to get information out there about divorce so people can gain an understanding of it.

We have been providing an affordable divorce service in Santa Clarita for quite some time now and with each year that passes, we continue to grow.  I am sure it is a combination of our marketing as well as people wanting to get divorced and not spend their lives savings.

If you are considering getting a divorce, make sure to spend some time on this website.  We have written hundreds of articles, videos and poscasts about divorce and the divorce process.

When you are ready to move forward with your divorce, please give us a call.

Santa Clarita Divorce Service Gearing Up For 2014

Posted by Tim Blankenship on

It is a usual occurrence every year that business slows down just a enough to start focusing on 2014 goals and getting ready for “Divorce Season”

Yes, I have to admit that there is such a thing.  It is caused by those folks who are thinking about getting divorced but hold off until the holidays are over.

Just about the first week of 2014 we will see an onslaught of new divorce cases in record numbers that will push all the way through September.

In October we start to see a slowdown of new divorce cases in Santa Clarita, but the call volume remains high as people are still gathering the information they will need to file for divorce in Santa Clarita in 2014.

This was a big year for us.  We grew quite quickly as folks realized we were the best solution for getting their divorce completed.  We hired several new employees and expanded our offices this past year.

We are ready for 2014 to kick off as we have employees in place and sufficient office space.

Knowing that things slow down a bit starting in October, we take this time to catch up an wrap up the cases we started in 2013 in Santa Clarita.  We have been getting a lot of divorce judgments completed and approve by the courts these last few weeks and that will continue into December.

We have also been working on our 2014 marketing strategies which will continue to consist of blogs, video, podcasts and our radio show.

If I had to guess, I would say that this year we wrote over 500 articles about divorce in Santa Clarita and we know have 200 divorce videos on our YouTube channel. Our blogs and videos have been the cornerstone of our business.

Our clients and potential clients love that we provide so much information on our blogs for free.

If you are one of those people waiting until 2014 to file for divorce, you are not alone. Just keep in mind that you and everyone else will be filing at the same time and the process of divorcing will take longer with the courts as they will be very busy.

California Divorce | When You Have To Notarize Your Divorce

Posted by Tim Blankenship on

There are  certain times that you have to notarize your divorce papers when filing your judgment in California.  So we wanted to clear up when you do and when you don’t need to have your signature notarized.

There is only one case where you will have to have a signature notarized.  And when I say case, i mean the way you proceeded through your divorce case and if you are filing an uncontested California divorce case, a True Default California divorce case or a Default With Agreement California divorce case.

Uncontested Divorce Does Not Require Notary

An uncontested divorce case is when one party files for divorce and the other party responds.   When this happens, both parties have officially entered the case.   The court knows that both parties are participating and you do not have to have your signatures notarized.

True Default Divorce Does Not Require Notary

A true default divorce case is one where you file for divorce and the other party is not involved at all.  They are not going to file a Response, they are not going to fill out any paperwork and they are not going to enter into a written agreement with you.  Your signature is not required when submitting your judgment.

Default With Agreement Divorce Does Need Notary

A default with agreement California divorce is one where you file for divorce, your spouse does not respond, but you are going to enter into a written agreement.  Yes, it is possible to enter into a written agreement without filing a response.

If you proceed with your California divorce in this manner, the Respondent will need to have their signature notarized when you submit the judgment.

The reason this is the case is because since the Respondent never filed a response, the Court wants to make sure that the Respondent is really the Respondent and not someone entirely else.

It is simply the way the court verifies that it is indeed the Respondent that signed the judgment as no response has been filed.

We are a licensed and bonded legal document preparation firm (paralegal firm) that specializes in divorce in California.

Please give us a call if you would like assistance filing and completing your divorce paperwork.

SCV Divorce Case Finished In Time For Wedding

Posted by Tim Blankenship on

This article is more to talk about our success in a recent divorce case here in Santa Clarita. One where we were able to pull off the unimaginable.

Okay, were not saving lives, but we were able to help our client finish their SCV divorce case just in the nick of time.

We had a client that had wanted to get divorced by a certain date.  I asked them what was so special about having the divorce finalized by this certain date.  He said he was getting married the day after.

I wrote a previous article which discuss the reasons you don’t want to plan your wedding until your divorce is finalized, and I still stick to that.

When we took this case on I made it very clear that we had no control over the courts time frames for approving judgments, but that we could ensure that the paperwork was done quickly and correctly so that we could get it submitted right away to get it in line to get reviewed.

And that is what we did.  We submitted the divorce paperwork as soon as we were allowed and we got the case approved by the judge!

We were filing what is called a “True Default” divorce case.  This is one where the other party does not respond and there is not going to be any agreement.  This are generally a little more harder to get approved in most cases.  But in this particular case, they did not have any property that the court had to dispose of.

On these types of divorce cases, you can actually submit the divorce judgment after 30 days have been passed.  You don’t have to wait 6 months to submit your judgment to the court.

The reason you want to submit your judgment as soon as possible (but not sooner than 30 days) is because the courts are so backed up.  It is taking the court as much as 9 months right now to approve judgments.

If you are having trouble getting your divorce approved or difficulty with the paperwork make sure to give us a call.  We specialize in divorce in California.

Santa Clarita Halloween Events 2013

Posted by Tim Blankenship on

I was going to write this article about Halloween Events in Santa Clarita to try to write something a little different than about Santa Clarita Divorce which we have written about more than 1000 times.

So as I started to do some research on Halloween events going on in Santa Clarita this year, I saw that a couple of people had already wrote some great articles and covered Halloween Events in Santa Clarita in much more depth than I had planned.

So I will get off easy and reference the folks that already put in the hard work.

First article on Santa Clarita Halloween Events 2013 I came across was written by Zach McReynolds who happens to be a Real Estate agent with Home Smart here in Santa Clarita.  He wrote a nice post about some of the fun things to do in Santa Clarita for Halloween in 2013.

He had lots of links to Lombardi Ranch, Six Flags Magic Mountain and a Heritage Haunt in Newhall.

Next I cam across Tony Lewis’s blog who is also a Realtor. Wow, these realtors really do a good job of getting information out about events…  Anyhow, he had a full page full of links to Halloween Events in and around Santa Clarita.  He even made the links orange and looks like he really put a lot of work into it.  Make sure to check it out.

And one last mention is the Santa Clarita Guide, which listed lots of events for Halloween In Santa Clarita. They also did a good job of listing events.  I saw a Ghost Walk, the Haunted Jailhouse over at the Sheriffs Station and good old Fright Fest.

Make sure to jump on over to those sites for some great ideas on Santa Clarita Halloween Events in 2013 which is right around the corner.

Wait, it’s in 2 days.  Better run out and get some candy….

Our Santa Clarita Divorce Service Works With Both Spouses

Posted by Tim Blankenship on

When you work with our Santa Clarita divorce service, we will work with both spouses for the same flat fee.  We wanted to clear that up as yesterday we were asked if the prices we advertise were “per person’.  I want to assure you that  they are not.

Because we are not attorneys and are not a law firm, we don’t represent either side.  We are here to facilitate the process the best way we can so we can complete your divorce as fast and painless as possible.

Because we are not representing either side, we act as a “neutral” to work with both parties to complete the divorce process.

This can be accomplished in a couple different ways.

First, both you and your spouse can come into our office together at the same time for the initial appointment with us.  This can be beneficial so all of us are on the same page from the beginning of the process so nobody feels like one party has the advantage over the other.

Another way is to come in alone to get the divorce process started.  It really does not matter to us if you come in alone to get the divorce started or bring your spouse with you.  I would say it is an even split on which way people decide.

I would say to do whatever you think would be best in your circumstances.  If you think coming in together would be better so you can both meet me and get a comfort level, great! If you have spoke to your spouse and have agreed on the divorce and you want to come alone, that is great also.

Just use your best judgment and let us know.  It won’t change anything we do.

In fact, there is nothing for the other spouse to do other than meeting us at the first appointment because there is nothing to sign.  All we need is the person who is going to file for divorce at the appointment.  The other spouse could come in a few days later to pick up a copy of the divorce papers after they have been filed.

Divorce does not have to be complicated.  We can help you navigate the divorce process.

We prepare, file, serve and complete your entire divorce case for both spouses for one flat fee.

Please give us a call for more information.

Santa Clarita Notary Service | Notary In Santa Clarita

Posted by Tim Blankenship on

Because many of the divorce cases we file require the documents to be notarized we decided to offer a notary service as part of our divorce services here in Santa Clarita.

If you are looking for a notary for any other reason, we can certainly help you.  Please call for pricing.

When you file for divorce, you will ultimately have to submit your written agreement to the court and this written agreement or judgment will need to be notarized in most cases.

So lets talk about the instances that will require you to get your divorce judgment notarized.

If you file a hybrid divorce or default with agreement divorce in California, you will absolutely need to have the Respondent’s signature notarized.  Why you ask?

Because in a Hybrid or Default with Agreement case, the Respondent has not officially entered into the case.  They have not filed a Response in this type of divorce, so the court does not really know that the other party is involved.  So in cases where no response was filed, the Respondent will have to have their signature notarized.

This is mainly because the court wants to verify that it is truly you and that you are aware of the divorce.  Otherwise someone else could be signing your name and you would never know about it.  This is just the courts way to make sure you are really you!

There are two types of divorce cases where you won’t have to have your signature notarized.  This is on the True Default divorce cases and Uncontested cases.

A true default case is where the other party is not involved at all (no response, no agreement)  You would not have to have your signature notarized in this case.

Sames goes for the Uncontested case where you have filed and your spouse file a response.  The response officially entered the Respondent in the case and the court knows you are involved.  Again, no notary required.

Just keep in mind that if you are doing hybrid or default with agreement, the Respondent will need to have their signature notarized.

California Divorce | Wait 30 Days Before Filing Request To Enter Default

Posted by Tim Blankenship on

If you are going through a California divorce and are trying to complete a True Default Divorce or Default With Agreement divorce case, you will need to file a request to enter default.

The difference between these two types of divorce cases is when you submit your request to enter default paperwork to the court.

Request To Enter Default When True Default Divorce Case

If you are going through a divorce which will be a true default, one where your spouse is not responding and will not enter into a written agreement, you will want to wait 30 days after your spouse has been served.  Not doing so will result in your request to enter default being rejected by the court and you will have to resubmit it.

The 30 days starts the day your spouse is personally served the divorce papers or if you used the notice of acknowledgment of receipt and mailed the divorce documents, you would use 30 days after they signed that form.

Request To Enter Default When Default With Agreement

If you are completing a divorce where you are going to have a default with agreement (also known as a Hybrid) you won’t want to file the Request To Enter Default form after 30 days.

In this case, you are going to want to file the Request To Enter Default along when you submit your divorce judgment to the court.  This way the court will know you are doing a hybrid divorce case.  If you submit it after the 30 days, the court will assume your are file a true default case.

When submitting your Request To Enter Default form, make sure not to sign it before the 30 days have passed.  We had a client who had their request to enter default rejected because they had signed it before the 30 days were passed.  They filed it after the 30 days, but because they dated it before the 30 days, the court rejected it and they had to refile it.

We specialize in divorce in California and are headquartered in Santa Clarita, CA.  If you need assistance with your divorce please make sure to give us a call.