When going through a divorce in California there are certain rules that apply to where you can file your divorce case. First you have to determine which County you are going to file in and then you have to determine which branch court within the county you are going to file in. You can’t just pick and choose which County or Court you want to file your California divorce case in.
I explain in the below video and podcast.
The Los Angeles divorce courts are under some severe strain right now. With budget cuts, layoffs and court closures, we are really seeing an impact on the level of service we are getting from the courts.
What we are finding is that the California divorce cases are taking much longer than they did in the past.
We are not just talking about cases that go to trial and have to see a judge, we are talking about your everyday uncontested divorce cases with self represented divorce clients that never step foot in the court room.
We are specifically talking about the time it takes for the court to review and approve a final judgment in a divorce case.
When you are representing yourself in your divorce, it is just a matter of getting the paperwork through the system. The final judgment is the last thing that you submit to the court.
The process of the court reviewing and approving the final judgment has always been long, however we are seeing a steady increase in the time it takes to review the divorce judgments.
First it was 3 months, then four. Now we are seeing it routinely take 6 months and longer. Now with the layoffs still so fresh from happening, I bet we will see even longer delays.
This can be a frustrating process. Especially for those folks that have attempted to do their entire divorce on their own. They are submitting them, only have it rejected 6 months later when they have completely forgotten about it an assumed everything was fine. Especially since they did not hear anything for so long.
We recommend (if time is a concern) that you submit your final divorce judgment just as soon as you have completed all the paperwork for your divorce.
You don’t have to wait 6 months before submitting your divorce case for final approval.
You can submit your case within 30 days of your spouse being served (if you are doing a default or hybrid style divorce) or immediately if going by way of uncontested divorce.
You case is going to sit in a pile of other divorce judgment in line for review anyway. You might as well get your case in line as early as possible.
Even though you are going through a divorce, it is still a “lawsuit” as mentioned on the divorce Summons. So this means there are specific steps that have to be taken to protect your interests which fall in line with most other types of lawsuits.
If you want to set aside the default in a California divorce case, it is possible. You can use our full service divorce and we will file the motion to set aside default and prepare your response or you can use our California divorce online tutorial service where we show you step by step how to file a motion to set aside default during divorce.
Click here to learn more about our online tutorial of how to set aside the default in a divorce case
This includes the process of filing a Response if you want to enter the case. When you are served divorce papers, it includes a Summons.
The divorce Summons says you are being served then gives specific information about your rights to respond and when you have to do it by.
The Summons indicates that you have 30 days to file a Response, otherwise your spouse could file a default and you would lose your right to be involved in the case and the judge can make orders without you and based entirely upon the requests of the Petitioner.
So what can happen if you don’t respond to the divorce papers? As the Summons says, if you have not responded within the 30 days, the Petitioner can file a Request To Enter Default.
When the Request To Enter Default has been filed with the Court, it will be up to the judge to grant it.
Once the Request To Enter Default has been entered, you no longer can respond. The only option at this point is to file a Motion To Set Aside the Default. This is a motion you would file on a Request For Order and needs to be submitted with specific language stating the reason you did not respond.
You will be issued a court date, have to serve the motion on your spouse and attend a hearing and speak to the judge. The Judge will decide on whether to grant your request to Set Aside the default.
If the default has not been granted by the court and only submitted, you make be able to simply file a response and be okay.
We can help you file a Motion to Set Aside Default and get you a hearing to speak to the judge so you can request the default be set aside. Please give us a call for more information.