California Divorce | What You Need To Know About Divorce In California

Posted by Tim Blankenship on

There is a lot to know about California divorce. This article will discuss some broad aspects about divorce and what you need to know about divorce in California.

We specialize in divorce in California so we know what questions you have about divorce.

We are a licensed and bonded legal document preparation firm that specializes in divorce.  We help people everyday with their divorce, so we have a pretty good idea of the information you want to know.

If you have searched and found this page, you are most likely at the beginning stages of your research on the issue of divorce.

So let’s discuss some of the considerations you should be thinking about at this stage.

The Divorce Process

One of the first basic questions about divorce is the divorce process itself.  Let’s talk about a few key issues regarding the California Divorce Process.

How Long Does Divorce Take in California?

California has what is called a “cooling off period”.  This cooling off period is 6 months.  This means that your divorce cannot be finalized until 6 months have passed since one of you have been served.  The 6 month clock does not start ticking until the papers have been served.

How much does it cost to get divorced?

The average cost of divorce in California is estimated at $15,000.  I know, that is ridiculous.  Even if you have an easy, uncontested case, divorce attorneys want $5,000 just to get your divorce case stated.  That is why we started this company providing flat fee divorce services.  When you use our services, the cost to file for divorce starts at just $599.

Do You Need An Attorney For Divorce In California?

The answer is NO.  You do not need an attorney for your California Divorce.  You can represent yourself during your divorce.  However, the divorce process is long and complex.  While it is possible to do your own divorce, most people will fail due to the complexity.

We Are Your Solution To Getting Divorced In California!

We are your solution to this problem.  We are a full service divorce company.  We are not attorneys, but are licensed to assist those going through divorce by providing a full service divorce process.  We take care of your entire divorce for one low flat fee.

In all honesty, there is too much information about divorce that can be covered in one article.  The best way to learn more is to call our office and speak to one of our knowledgeable divorce specialists.  Everyone’s situation is just a little different.

We are the only company in Los Angeles County that specializes in divorce.  We have worked for the Los Angeles Superior Courts and large area family law firms and we have helped 1,000’s of people complete their divorce.  We are members of the Los Angeles County Bar Association and Santa Clarita Valley Bar Association.

Call us to learn more about the California divorce process and how we can help you.  You can reach us at 661-281-0266

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.

How To Fill Out California Divorce Summons FL-110 | California Divorce Service

Posted by Tim Blankenship on

Are you planning on filing your own divorce in California.  If so, one of the forms you will need to know how to fill out is the California Divorce Summons Form FL-110.

We now there are lots of people trying to complete their own divorce in California so we are making available our video series on how to complete the divorce forms in California.

We are a licensed and bonded legal document preparation firm that specializes in divorce in California. If you are looking for someone to help you with your divorce please give us a call.  We can help in all of California.

The California divorce summons is pretty straight forward and not a lot of areas to fill out.  You will want to take notice of the top of page one that talks about how the Respondent only has 30 days to respond.

(If you have an amicable divorce, your spouse does not have to respond which can save you $435 on your divorce.  Call us to learn how.)

If you are looking for a video which describes and shows you how to fill out the California Divorce Summons Form FL-110, you can watch the video below.

This is just one of the forms you will need to complete and file when completing your initial divorce papers in California.  They are necessary to get your case filed and get a case number.

One of the other forms you will need to complete is the California Divorce Petition Form FL-100 which you can link to here.

So you will want to make sure to read the top of page 1 which says the Respondent only has 30 days to respond.  The other thing to read and take not of is on page 2.  This is where the California Divorce Summons explains the Automatic Restraining Orders (ATRO’s) that go into effect.

Take special notice that the Automatic Restraining orders go into effect on the Petitioner when the case is filed and on the Respondent when they are served.

If you need help filing your initial divorce papers please give us a call,  we can help.

How To Fill Out California Divorce Petition Form FL-100 | California Divorce Service

Posted by Tim Blankenship on

For many of you who are thinking about attempting to complete your own California divorce, I have put together a series of videos you can watch to help you with this.

This blog post and video below will explain the process of filing out the California Divorce Petition (Form FL-100).  This is just one of the forms you will need to complete to file for divorce.

We are a licensed and bonded legal document preparation firm that can help you file your divorce papers.  While we hope you enjoy the free information we have provided, if you are looking for an affordable professional divorce firm to complete your divorce, please give us a call.

Below you will find a step by step instructional video which will explain how to fill out the California Divorce Petition (Form FL-100)

The California divorce petition is not too difficult to fill out, but you need to make sure that you mark the correct boxes.

When you are completing the California divorce Petition, remember that you are letting the Court and your spouse know what it is you are requesting in the divorce. You will notice on page 2 of the Petition that is says “Petitioner Requests”.

It is important to indicate what you are requesting.  Especially if you are going to do a Default Judgment.  (A default is where the other party does not Respond). This is because you can only ask for what you included in your Petition (and nothing else ) in a default style divorce judgment.

The thought process is that you filed your Petition in which was served on your spouse.  If they don’t oppose anything, they can choose not to respond.  The court knows that they have been advised of your requests.  So you can’t later change what you want without notifying the other party by filing an amended Petition.

So make sure you let the other party know exactly what you are requesting when filing your California divorce petition form FL-100.

I Filed For Divorce In California But Did Not Serve My Spouse Yet

Posted by Tim Blankenship on

I had a good question come up on our divorce chat service today.  This individual was searching for “how to dismiss your California divorce case”

The specific issue that they were facing is that they had filed for divorce in California, but had not served the divorce papers.  The divorce courts are now setting a case status conference if the divorce papers are not filed timely.  You can usually expect a hearing to be set within 2 months from the time you filed the divorce papers.

This party had the status conference hearing coming up pretty soon and did not have time to serve her spouse.  She wanted to know if she should go to the hearing and if her husband would have to attend.

If you have a case status conference coming up at the beginning of your divorce, in most cases it will not be with the judge.  It will be with the Facilitators office and they just want to see what is happening with your case.  Sometimes the letter regarding the hearing states that your case will be dismissed if the Respondent has not been served prior to the hearing. So make sure to read the notice of motion closely.

I advised her that she should go to the hearing to avoid potentially having the case dismissed. If this were to happen, she would have to refile her divorce.  This means filing out all the paperwork again and paying the filing fee again.

I also advised her to simply explain what was going on.  In her case, she was not sure if she wanted to continue with the divorce.  Since her husband already new she had filed, I told her it would be best to have him served and then just let the case sit with the court.

There are other reasons you may not have served your spouse.  I get a lot of calls from folks asking what they should do when they don’t know where their spouse is and that is the reason they have not been served.

We are a licensed and bonded legal document preparation service and are a full service divorce firm.  We can assist you with your entire divorce start to finish anywhere in California.

 

How To Serve Your California Divorce Forms | Personal Service & Mail Service

Posted by Tim Blankenship on

One of the biggest misunderstandings and questions I get is about how and who can serve the divorce papers if you are divorcing in California.

We will discuss the process of service in this post and have also included a video of the different types of mail service and personal service and who can serve which forms.

Watch this brief video about serving divorce papers or continue reading below.

In the video we discuss who can file your divorce forms and how to file the proof of service forms.

Remember, that the initial divorce forms (summons and petition) have to be personally served.  They have to be personally served by someone over 18 and cannot be you.

The video above will walk you through how to fill out the California divorce proof of service of summons (personal service form).

There is a way that you can mail your initial divorce forms to your spouse as well.  Again, it cannot be done by you.  So you will have to have someone mail the divorce summons and petition to your spouse.  You need to complete and include a notice of acknowledgment of receipt form FL-117.  You spouse, once received, will have to sign the form which acknowledges that they have received the divorce papers.

When they mail it back to you, you will then complete the proof of service of summons and attach the notice of acknowledgment of receipt.  Both need to be filed together with the court at the same time.  Make sure to check the appropriate boxes on the proof of service of summons.

We are a divorce legal service that specializes in the divorce process.  We are headquartered in Santa Clarita, CA and serve all the courts in Los Angeles County.  Regardless of where you live in Los Angeles, we can help you.

We have the divorce process down to a science and and help many clients who do not want to drive to our office by assisting them via phone, fax and email.

Please give us a call at 661-281-0266 and we can discuss your specific divorce case and let you know how we can help you.

How To Start The California Divorce Process | Santa Clarita Divorce

Posted by Tim Blankenship on

We have made several videos on how to complete your California divorce and are now making them available on our blog, divorce661.com.

The video below discusses the initial steps and divorce forms you will need to file for divorce in California.  It is a step by step guide on what the exact forms you will need to file to get your divorce case started.

We explain the divorce process exactly as we would complete it if you had our Santa Clarita Divorce Service completing your divorce for you.

We discuss how to fill out the California Divorce Petition form FL-100 and divorce Summons Form FL-110.  We will share with you the exact way to complete these forms on video.  You can literally watch as we type on the forms.  You could even follow along and complete your forms yourself if you wanted to.

We also go over some of the areas of the divorce forms where people have the most trouble and ask us the most questions about.

The video will also help you decide how to fill out the requests on page 2 of the Petition. You will notice that the forms says ” Petitioner Requests” and then starts asking about children and physical and legal custody and visitation, etc.

Now on the divorce summons, we discuss the automatic restraining orders that go into effect which are on the second page of the summons.  Make sure to read what that says.  The summons also advises the respondent that they have 30 days to respond.

Once you have watched this video on how to start the California divorce process and completed your initial divorce documents, you will need to file them with the court so your case number can be issued.

We are a licensed and bonded legal document preparation service that specializes in divorce. We are located in Santa Clarita and serve all the Courts in Los Angeles County.  Please give us a call if you would like more information about our full service divorce process.

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.

Don’t Fall Victim To Cheap Online Divorce Document Providers | California Divorce

Posted by Tim Blankenship on

If you are searching for online for divorce assistance in California you will undoubtedly find many cheap and low cost services.

I want you to understand the difference between a professional document preparation service and what these online services provide so you can make a decision on which is best suited for you.

I am looking at a Google search I just did for “cheap divorce”.  What you will find is divorce document preparation companies offering services as low as $89.95 for do-it-yourself kits.  Others are selling what is referred to as “automated document assembly” where you fill out an online questionnaire which will auto populate the divorce forms.

So let’s discuss a couple of these options.

Do It Yourself Divorce Kits 

Do it yourself kits are exactly that.  You pay for them to send you the divorce forms.  You will receive a box with a lot of  forms, many that you will never need.  By the way, all the divorce forms are available at the Court House or online completely free.  There is absolutely no reason to pay for your forms, but many do all the time.

Automated Document Assembly

Automated document assembly is where you answer questions online and your answers are automatically populated into the divorce forms.  It seems like a good idea at first glance, until you realize the limitations.

Here are the problems with this type of service.

  1. There is nobody there to tell you if you are providing the correct information.
  2. The divorce forms are usually not updated to the correct version.
  3. They don’t provide you with the local forms for your County.
  4. Nobody reviews your documents.  Once you save and print, you are on your own.
  5. There is no assistance with the “process” of filing and serving your documents.

I actually purchased the licensing rights at one point to sell an automated document assembly.  I had people use it and realized immediately the pitfalls and shortcomings of the software.  These types of systems have not place in a complex process such as divorce.

Full Service Divorce Document Preparation

This is what we provide, a full service divorce document preparation service.  We are licensed and bonded legal document preparers that specialize in divorce in Los Angeles County.  We have worked for the courts and for large law firms and are familiar with the process and how to correctly complete the paperwork.

Here is what you get with our service.

  1. We complete all your documents. No Questionnaires.
  2. We file all your documents with the court.  You won’t go to court.
  3. We inform you step by step of the procedure along the way.  Trust me, you will have lots of questions.
  4. We are available by phone and email to answer all your questions.

I provided this run down of the different services because I was getting too many people calling me for help with their divorce who had already wasted their money on purchasing their forms or the automated document assembly service only to be left with nothing more than paper for their trash.

Using Our Remote Divorce Service | California Divorce

Posted by Tim Blankenship on

I received an email over the weekend asking if we can provide our divorce service remotely.  This person live out of Country, but had lived in California and wanted to see if we could help him with his divorce.

We have spoke about this in the past quite a bit, but thought I would discuss it again.  We are able to help you with your divorce anywhere in California, whether you are in California or not.

We have helped lots of folks finish their divorce who are out of state or out of Country.  We have helped military personnel serving in the Armed Forces who are deployed overseas to complete their divorce.   Most recently was a gentleman in the Army, serving in Germany and his divorce was completed in Sacramento.  All this while our divorce service is headquartered in Los Angeles.

We have helped clients who were living in Saudi Arabia as well as Africa.  Some places were so remote, that they did not have email and we had to mail them their divorce document to the consulate.

So, as you can see, we can help you with your divorce anywhere in California whether you are living here or not.  For the most part, the divorce process and forms are the same anywhere in California.  Each county may have a few different local forms.  We always check the court’s local website for specific forms and procedures to make sure they are the same as Los Angeles County where we are based.

You can call it a remote divorce service or online divorce service.   In fact, we have completed divorces for clients we have never met and never spoken to.  Because of time changes for folks out of Country, we did everything via email.  The last person that reached out to us for our remote divorce service was from Australia, and they are 17 hours ahead of us.

Regardless of where you live, we can help you complete your divorce in California.  Give us a call or email us for more information.