Cheap & Online Divorce Services Actually Cost You More | Santa Clarita Divorce

Posted by Tim Blankenship on

I write pretty often about those cheap online divorce services you can find on the Internet.  And today I want to tell you how these types of services can actually end up costing you more money in the end and how you could have had our Santa Clarita divorce service handle the entire case for you for less.

I received  a call from a gentleman who used one of these online divorce document services.  They paid around $300 for the documents to be prepared by them filing out a questionnaire.  They received the divorce forms and were left confused by what they had to do next.

So they started following the 20 pages of directions they received along with their completed forms.  Step one said they should file the divorce summons and petition.  They did this and paid the $435 fee.

In step 2, the instructions said for the Respondent to file the Response.  So they went down to the courthouse and filed the Response and paid another $435 filing fee.

Filing this Response and paying this fee was totally unnecessary and a waste of their money!

When you are going through an uncontested or amicable divorce, there is no need to file a Response.  There is a process called a Hybrid Divorce in California which allows you to go through the divorce process and only have to pay one fee.

So let’s do the math.  Because they wanted to save money (which we all do) they used an online divorce document assembly service at a cost of $300.  Next they filed a Summons and a Response.  At $435 each that’s $870.    Combined, they have spent $1,170 on their divorce.

Not to mention that they had to do everything themselves.  They had to prepare all their own forms.  Figure out how to file and serve all the documents.  And they have not even prepared or filed their judgment which is the most difficult task!

They could have used our Santa Clarita divorce service and paid less than $1,170 including our fees and the court costs.  We would have prepared each and every document and filed and served them.  These folks would not have had to lift a finger or waste their valuable time trying to figure things out on their own.

Unfortunately, this happens all the time and I get clients calling me who have had trouble completing their divorce with these types of services.

Don’t get tricked into using these cheap online divorce services.

Use our licensed and bonded legal document preparation service that specializes in Divorce.  We take care of everything and will save you money and frustration in the end.

Different Types Of Divorce Mediators | Santa Clarita Divorce

Posted by Tim Blankenship on

We are a company that specializes in divorce document preparation in Santa Clarita.  We are not mediators, but often work with divorce mediators in Santa Clarita and wanted to discuss these different types of mediators.

There are different types of divorce mediators out there and we wanted to share with you this information so you can make the best choice and understand what your money is paying for.

First off, let’s talk about divorce mediators that are actual attorneys.  These types of divorce mediators work as a neutral third party.  This means that they do not represent either one of the spouses, rather they work to assist both of you.

The divorce mediators will meet with you together, explain the law as it relates to your case so both of you can make informed decisions.  They will explain what a judge may or may not order if you go court as well.

Divorce mediators who are attorneys are able to draft a Marital Settlement Agreement or MSA for short.  This marital settlement agreement can be used to submit to the court and has all the legal language required in a divorce judgment.

This marital settlement agreement is then attached to the judgment forms and submitted to the court.

You are going to pay more for these types of divorce mediators because they are attorneys.  However, at the end of the divorce mediation process, you will have a completed MSA ready for submission to the courts.

On the other hand, you have divorce mediators that are not attorneys.  These non attorney mediators cannot provide you with a legal document used for court. Non attorney mediators cannot practice law and therefor cannot draft the MSA which is necessary to submit to the court.  So at the end of your mediation in these cases, you have little more than a written document which will later need to be translated to a marital settlement agreement.

Non attorney mediators are much less in cost than attorney mediators.  Essentially, this is due to the final product you receive.

Depending on what you are trying to achieve in your divorce mediation will dictate which type of divorce mediator you should chose.

We are a licensed and bonded legal document preparation firm that specializes in divorce.  Please call us for more information regarding mediation services in Santa Clarita.

Refinancing Home Loan During Divorce With Wells Fargo Bank

Posted by Tim Blankenship on

I wanted to share a great opportunity for those folks who have a Wells Fargo Bank Loan and who may be going through a divorce.

This does not only apply to those going through a divorce, but this information will help folks who find themselves going through divorce and needing to refinance.

I have many clients going through divorce who need to do something with their home.  Either sell it, rent it or have one of the parties taken off the loan so the other spouse can keep the home.

The problem is that one of the spouses may not qualify on their own or they may be unable to refinance because the home is worth less than they owe on the loan or perhaps they don’t have good enough credit.

The good news is that if you have a Wells Fargo Loan they will refinance your home even if you have bad credit, are underwater on your loan or have no income.

Here are some of the highlights:

  • Must be Wells Fargo Loan
  • No Income Verification
  • Upside down on mortgage okay
  • Appraisal value not taken into consideration
  • Only one original mortgage holder required to remain on loan

Needless to say, this is a great opportunity for everyone.  Hard to believe that there is no income verification and that they will refinance to today’s rate regardless of the loan to value.

For those who faced the problem described above where you need to remove one of the parties from the loan, this takes care of two issues.  First, you can refinance and get a great rate.  Second, you can remove your spouse from the loan and refinance in your name alone.

I was glad to learn of this program from Wells Fargo.  I will be making sure to ask all my clients if they have a Wells Fargo loan when handing their divorce from now on.

If you would like more information about this Wells Fargo program and are going through divorce feel free to give me a call.

We are a licensed divorce service in Santa Clarita, CA and serve all the Courts in California.

Let’s Talk About Divorce Mediation In Santa Clarita

Posted by Tim Blankenship on

If you read my blogs often you know we are the place to go in Santa Clarita for affordable divorce document preparation.

But what we are going to do over the next couple of weeks is start talking about divorce mediation in Santa Clarita.

Divorce mediation is not talked about much in Santa Clarita and there are things you need to know about mediation that can  benefit you.

We plan on writing at least 25 different articles that will hopefully make divorce mediation more understandable, to discuss if divorce mediation is an option for you or if you even need a divorce mediator at all.

We have tried to get a few divorce mediators to come into our office to discuss the mediation process in person so we can get that information out to our readers.  But we can’t wait any longer and are going to get it out on our own.

On top of the articles we plan on writing we will also do an accompanying video on divorce mediation in Santa Clarita that you will be able to find on our YouTube channel.

We feel that folks unnecessarily run to an attorney when they decide to get divorced.  There are better options in most cases than using a divorce lawyer for your case.

As much as 90% of divorced cases never need an attorney and you can get through the divorce process by using our Santa Clarita Divorce Service alone or a combination of our services and divorce mediation.

In any case, we plan on getting the word out about divorce mediation in Santa Clarita so you are aware of the benefits of mediating your divorce instead of litigating.

We will talk about the different types of divorce mediation services out there and what to watch out for.  As with every industry, there are the good ones and the bad apples.

Keep tuned to our blog posts as we discuss all there is to know about the divorce mediation process in Santa Clarita.

Santa Clarita Divorce Mediation | A Santa Clarita Divorce Service

Posted by Tim Blankenship on

What does it mean to mediate your divorce?  Want the easy answer?  Good!

When you go to a mediator, you are asking a neutral third party attorney to assist you with coming to an agreement about the terms of your divorce.

A mediator will work with both spouses to explain how the law works so you can make informed decisions on how to best divide your assets and debts and to work on parenting plans, etc.  Essentially, mediators will help with whatever issues you are unable to resolve on your own.

Once you are in agreement, they will draft a “marital settlement agreement” or MSA which you will sign.

But why are we discussing this on a divorce document preparation service site you ask?  Because mediation is the next step if you cannot come to an agreement on your divorce.

Let me give you an example.

Many people who don’t want to spend thousands of dollars on their divorce come to me to prepare their divorce for them.  These folks are mostly in agreement on the terms of their divorce.  But there may be one or two sticky points they are still working on.

What we will do is get their divorce filed and start the process.  We will prepare and complete all the necessary mandatory forms including the financial disclosures.  Once this is done, you are ready to work towards some type of agreement on the distribution of your assets and debts.

Let’s assume at this point that you are unable to come to an agreement on say a parenting plan or the amount of support to be paid.  Where you are unable to make decisions, using a mediator can help.

A mediator can provide you with the information you need so you can make informed decisions.  A divorce mediator is far better than the parties going out and hiring individual attorney’s.  There is certainly a cost advantage to using a divorce mediator.

I have clients that come to me who later need mediation.  I refer them out to a local Santa Clarita divorce mediation team who will help them through their issues and draft the marital settlement agreement.

Once the agreement is drafted, they come back to me to finish up the divorce documentation and we submit the final judgment.

What we recommend is that you start your divorce with us and allow us to get all the paperwork done for you.  This will save you a lot of money.  Then if you need to speak to a divorce mediator, you can go to them for help on an agreement.  Then we will wrap up your divorce for you.

Breaking Down Divorce Into Understandable Terms | Santa Clarita Divorce

Posted by Tim Blankenship on

I was paid a nice compliment the other day.  A lady had called and said she had watched several of our Santa Clarita Divorce Videos on YouTube.

She went on to say how she liked the fact that we broke down the divorce process into terms she could understand.

And really, breaking down the divorce process is at the heart of what we do with our blogs, videos and podcasts.

We recognized that the divorce process in California is confusing.  While there is a lot of information out there on the web, it is hard to understand and is written in a way that makes you say, “what does that mean”?

So with that in mind, we have taken steps to break down the process in terms you and I can understand.  I will read something some lawyer or judge has said and then on video or in a blog post will say, “here is what this means in plain English”.

Another thing we have done in take the divorce process and break it down into understandable bits and pieces.  We take the process of divorce and make it more digestible by explaining what to do first and exactly how to do it.

We are fortunate to have many clients and lots of calls for help with divorce.  We simply take these questions we get and either write about them on our divorce blogs or post a video about it or do a podcast.  Sometimes we will do all three, just to make sure the information gets out there.

If you have questions about divorce, make sure to read this blog.  There are several hundred articles about divorce that we have written and answer most of the questions you will have about divorce and the process.

When you are ready to take the next step, please give us a call.  One phone call with us and you will walk away with a total understanding of the divorce process and what we can do to help you get through it.

We are a licensed divorce service in Santa Clarita and serve all of Los Angeles County.  Please call us at 661-281-0266 for assistance with your divorce.

 

Watch Out For Divorce Services That Cut Corners | Santa Clarita Divorce

Posted by Tim Blankenship on

The business of providing legal services is ripe with fraud.  That is why there are many rules one must follow in order to become licensed in the field of providing divorce legal services as we do in Santa Clarita.

We have obtained those licenses to provide our Santa Clarita divorce service which required that we proved we had the necessary educations, experience and background.

Unfortunately, there are many that have no experience and are unlicensed who are out there offering their services to the public illegally and who put a bad stain on this industry.

Yesterday I received a call from someone who at first was asking about costs for certain services I provide.  I was asking some questions of this person who I later determined was calling under false pretenses.  Meaning he was not a real or potential client, but was asking questions as if he was one.

This person finally said that they were a process server who also provided family law services and had questions about how we operate.

Seriously, you are a process server and you also provide family law services?  He started to tell me how he does divorce cases and all the corner cutting that he does.

This person had absolutely no clue about how to complete a divorce, but had all the ways to cheat the system worked out.  Meaning how he could do as little as work as possible by not following the court procedure.

This is exactly the type of people that are out there offering their divorce services that you have to watch out for.

So when you are calling around trying to ask how much it is for a divorce, you best make sure to check if they are even licensed to provide the service.

I can guarantee that if you are shopping around for a divorce service  based on price and want the lowest bidder, you are going to end up with one of the characters.

I badly want to post who this person is as I found them online.  But i will just hope they read this post and figure out it was them.  I am just glad this person is not in Santa Clarita.

If you are reading this I suggest you either get licensed to practice in this field and pay your bond and go through the steps to educate yourself and the necessary training to be in this industry.

Or just go back to process serving and stick to what you know.

How To Demand Financial Disclosures During Divorce | Santa Clarita Divorce

Posted by Tim Blankenship on

When going through a divorce there are many forms that have to be filed and served on the other party.  It can get very confusing which divorce forms to fill out.

But what do you do when the other party is not completing the divorce forms they are supposed to complete?

This article deals specifically with how to request the preliminary declaration of disclosure.  This is the schedule of assets and debts and income and expense declaration.

If you are going to file a uncontested divorce or hybrid divorce, both parties will need to complete their financial disclosures.  The divorce process cannot proceed until both parties have completed this step of disclosing their finances and served them on the other party.  It is mandatory that both parties to the divorce complete this step.

Sometimes one of the spouses will not want to complete this step for one reason or another.  But because it is necessary, you will need to nudge them a little.

Here is what we do to ask for someone to complete their financial disclosures.

First, don’t ask for theirs until you have filed and served yours.  So complete your set of disclosures.  When you serve them on your spouse, include a letter that asks that they complete their disclosure withing 30 days.

Wait the 30 days and if no response or no disclosures completed, you can take the next step.  This would be to file a demand with the court.  You would file a “Demand For Production Of Preliminary Declaration Of Disclosure” on the other party.

It is not a discovery request, but rather a demand that they complete their preliminary declaration of disclosure.  This form is filed with the court and then served on the other party.  This lets them know that you mean business and that the court is aware of the request.

In the demand for production of Preliminary Declaration of Disclosure you will indicate the same thing you did in the letter.  Let them know that pursuant to Family Code Section 2104 and 2107 that they have 30 days to complete their disclosures and that failure to comply with this demand may result in you filing a motion with the court to compel such production.

Hopefully, these steps will get your spouses attention and they will complete the necessary documents so you can complete your divorce.

We are a licensed divorce service located at 27240 Turnberry Lane, Ste. 200 Valencia, CA 91355.  Please call us if you would like more information about our services.

You Have 30 Days After Divorce Petition Served To File Response | Santa Clarita Divorce

Posted by Tim Blankenship on

If you are going through a divorce in California, one thing you will receive is the Summons.  The divorce Summons can be scary to read so I wanted to discuss this form in detail.

The first thing the divorce summons says is “You Are Being Sued”.  What do you mean you are being sued?  Look, while this is a family law matter, it is still a lawsuit filed in a court of law.  You just need to get over it.  And understand this. You are being sued, but not like in civil court where you are the defendant because someone has alleged you have done something wrong.

The next thing you will read is the following caption:

“You have 30 calendar days after this Summons and Petition are served on you to file a Response at the court and have copy served on the Petitioner.  A letter or phone call will not protect you.  If you do not file your Response on time, the court may make orders affecting your marriage, your property, and custody of your children…”

Of all the divorce forms, this one troubles people the most and I want to discuss a few things.

First of all, what the court is referring to about the “30 days to file a response” is in regards to the other party having the ability to file a “Request to enter Default”.  While technically it is true that you need to file a response in 30 days, it is not necessary if you are planning on proceeding by way of default or by using a hybrid judgment for your divorce.

I am a big fan of the hybrid divorce.  This is a cross between a default and an uncontested.  A hybrid divorce judgment allows you to do all the things required by an uncontested divorce (both parties complete financial disclosures and enter into a written agreement) and a true default divorce.

When preparing a hybrid style divorce, you do not have to worry about filing a response.  So while the Summons says you have to file a response or risk losing certain rights, it is not part of the paperwork when completing a hybrid divorce in California.  This is because with a hybrid a request to enter default will be filed.

The difference is that the request to enter default will be submitted with the final divorce judgment along with the agreement instead of after the 30 day mark.

If you have more questions about the California Divorce Summons or about the “30 days to respond” language, please feel free to give us a call.

We are a licensed divorce service located at 27240 Turnberry Lane, Ste. 200 Valencia, CA 91355 and can be reached at 661-281-0266.

Santa Clarita Divorce Service Celebrating National Small Business Week

Posted by Tim Blankenship on

We are proud to be a small business in Santa Clarita.  And if you didn’t know, this week is National Small Business Week, so we are celebrating.

But what are we celebrating exactly?  Well, we have worked hard to grow our small business in the last year.  We have taken our Santa Clarita divorce service from a home based business working out of our loft to a executive office in Valencia with 3 employees in less than a year.  That is cause for celebration.

When we first started, we would meet clients at Starbucks on the corner of Valencia Blvd and The Old Road.  When we first started we were not sure if this would be a viable business model.  We were pretty sure there was a demand for affordable divorce services in Santa Clarita, but were not sure if there was enough demand to allow us to keep our prices low enough for most people to afford our service.

After a little more than a year, our Santa Clarita divorce business is doing well.  We now employ three people in Santa Clarita.  When we hired our first employee, the business took on an entirely new feel.  I now was responsible for the welfare of another persons livelihood.  It is like when you have a baby, you realize it is no longer just about you.

We are also now working with the College of the Canyons Paralegal Program and assisting with training some of their soon-to-be-paralegals who are required to complete (2) sixty hour internships as part of their curriculum.  Some of their students perform internships with us and learn the in’s and out’s of working with a family law divorce service.

Running a small business is tough.  We put in a lot of hours to keep the business going.  Having a small business means thinking about it 24 hours a day and it can really consume you.

We are looking forward to expanding our services into the surrounding counties over the next couple of years.

Here is to all the Santa Clarita small business who make this community great and provide jobs and services to our community.