California Divorce Forms | Santa Clarita Divorce

Posted by Tim Blankenship on

California Divorce Forms | Santa Clarita Divorce

Did you know that the California divorce forms are completely free?  If you do any search for free California divorce forms, you can eventually find the Superior Court website which has all the down-loadable divorce forms.

The problem is that the California Superior Courts sites are buried under 100’s of companies trying to sell you California divorce forms.  I suppose folks are just unfamiliar with how to do a proper search to find what they are looking for.

Because we are the Santa Clarita affordable divorce service that we are, we like to give away free things when we can.  We pay for a divorce document assembly service that allow someone to answer questions and the forms fill themselves out.  It makes it much simpler to complete the California divorce forms.

Most companies sell this service anywhere from $99 to $299 and up.  We have decided to give it away for free.

Simply go to this link https://www.clientspace.org/register.asp?firm=A2924098&purchase=437 which will take you to the page which will allow you to create a user name and password and have instant access to the divorce form assembly service.

We are doing this as a community service and to help folks in Santa Clarita.  Besides, we are paying for this service anyways, so we might as well make it available  for people to use.

Of course, we know that this is a good business decision and hopefully if folks decide to hire a divorce document preparation service down the road that they come to us for help.

The California divorce forms will help you prepare all the forms.  You will still have to comply with all the technical aspects of the divorce procedure and make sure you file and serve the forms appropriately.  This is what gives most people the most trouble.  The forms are only half the battle.

Please pass this article along to anyone who may be looking for an easy way to complete their California divorce forms.

 

Is Lack Of Money Preventing You From Divorce | Santa Clarita

Posted by Tim Blankenship on

Is Lack Of Money Preventing You From Divorce | Santa Clarita

Most people use my divorce paralegal service because of cost.  They want to save money and not pay for lawyers.  In addition, they feel that their divorce case will be uncontested and mostly amicable.  These are good fits for my service.

But despite the affordable divorce services we offer, studies show that many people stay married, although living separately, due to a lack of money which is preventing them from getting divorced.  Lack of money, that is, to get the legal assistance they need to prepare their divorce paperwork.

The study was done by Ohio State University who surveyed 7,272 people between 1979 and 2008.  Most of the people in the study who separated from their spouse reported getting a divorce within three years of separation.  The survey also revealed that 15% of people who separated did not get a divorce (and who wanted to) within the first 1o years.  The reason stated here was because it was too costly to get divorced.  Thus, they remained legally married for the sole reason of lack of money.

The survey state that people could not afford an attorney for their divorce.  Who can these days with hourly rates for divorce attorneys skyrocketing and the average billable hour being approximately $450.00 per hour.

Apparently these people who were surveyed had not heard about the affordable divorce legal services that we offer.  Legal Document Assistants such as we are, only exist in about 5 states and I am not sure if Ohio is one of them.

Californians are fortunate that Legal Document Assistants are able to work directly with the public without attorney assistance to prepare divorce paperwork.  We provide flat rates for our divorce service which makes getting a divorce a lot easier on the pocketbook.

If you are not getting divorced due the costs, please give us a call.  We can usually work out some type of payment arrangement so we can get the divorce process started for you.

Understanding Property During Divorce | Santa Clarita

Posted by Tim Blankenship on

Understanding Property During Divorce | Santa Clarita

When people are going through divorce and Santa Clarita, they often have many questions about how distribution of property works,  specifically in regards to when they have to complete their their preliminary declaration of disclosures.  This involves the income and expense report and schedule of assets and debts.

So let’s talk little bit about what the courts considers property and what property needs to be indicated on these forms.

Property is anything that can be bought or sold. For instance:  Your house, cars, furniture, or clothing.  Also anything that has value like bank accounts and cash,  pension plans, 401(k) plans, stocks and perhaps a patent that you own or even a business.

So when you get divorced, the court makes decisions about how to divide the property that the spouses bought during the marriage.

Even if you don’t want to deal with these issues or if you divide your property infomally, the court still needs to make formal orders about these issues.  This doesn’t mean that you have to get in front of a judge to make an order.

This means that you have to come to an agreement and then put those agreements down on paper.

Once you have your agreement as far as how you’re going to divide your property you simply need to put that on the judgment paperwork and sign those forms so the  judgment can be submitted indicating how you wish to distribute your property.

It is important that you disclose all your property during your divorce.  When completing the preliminary declaration of disclosures (which is generally mandatory) you will want to list everything that was obtained during the marriage, whether in your name our your spouses name.

We can help you with prepare your disclosures during divorce.  Please give us a call for more information about our divorce services in Santa Clarita.

Divorce Forms Can Be Difficult | Santa Clarita Divorce

Posted by Tim Blankenship on

Divorce Forms Can Be Difficult | Santa Clarita Divorce

If you are considering getting a divorce or have already started the process on your own, you should know that the divorce forms can be difficult.  They don’t outright appear difficult at first, but you have to watch out for the hidden areas where you can make a mistake.  And you won’t even know that you did.

The divorce forms are difficult because many of them are used for more than one purpose and have numerous check boxes for questions that leave you wondering if you should only check off one or if more than one apply.  This is why it important to use a professional divorce document preparation service such as ours.

We have been ripe with calls from frustrated couples who have attempted to complete their divorce paperwork themselves, only to learn later on that they did them completely wrong.

The difficulty with the divorce forms is that nobody tells you if you are doing them correct or not.  Sure you filled out the forms and sent them to the court and they filed them.  “Great”, you think, “I must have done it right”.  Wrong!  The court does not look at the forms you file during your divorce.  You can fill out your divorce paperwork completely wrong and file it with the court and they will stamp it and not say a word.  This is because it is not the court clerks job to review your divorce paperwork.

So you go through the entire divorce process thinking you did everything right.  Then you prepare and submit your final divorce judgment paperwork and three months later you get everything back in the mail with a rejection letter explaining everything that you did wrong.  Don’t feel bad, this happens to just about everyone and most people multiple times.

What you are left doing is trying to fix all the things you did wrong on the divorce paperwork from the time you started up and including the final judgment paperwork.  Sometimes it is a problem with the final judgment paperwork itself and other times it is something you did wrong with the previously filed divorce forms.

We recommend you use our professional divorce document preparation service from the very beginning.  It will save you much time and frustration.  But, if you have already started or nearly done and hitting roadblocks, we can pick up where you left off and figure out what needs to be done to complete your divorce.

December A Busy Month For Divorces In Santa Clarita

Posted by Tim Blankenship on

December A Busy Month For Divorces In Santa Clarita

I hate to admit it, but December is always a very busy month for divorces not only in Santa Clarita, but all of Los Angeles County.

The interesting thing is that while the phones are literally ringing off the hook, most people are just calling to get information and holding off until after the new year.

This makes sense to me.  Why make more difficult what is probably already a difficult time in your life by filing for divorce during the holidays.  Let’s get past Christmas and New Years and then it can be back to business as far as getting through the divorce process.

So while the phones continue to ring, we are simply advising our soon to be clients that they should expect the courts to be busy come January and February as all these folks who are filing for divorce then will certainly have an impact on the court services.

One thing you might want to consider is to get your initial divorce documents prepared and filed in December and then just hold onto them until you are ready to serve your spouse in January.  Nobody will no you filed for divorce but you.  Oh, and me!

By doing this you will have already completed the initial divorce paperwork and be ready to move forward come January and be that much ahead of the game.

Don’t forget that the divorce does not actually start until you spouse is served, so if you were concerned about timing, there is nothing to worry about.

So whether you just need the information about our services or are ready to get started, please feel free to give us a call.  We would be happy to discuss your options in filing for divorce and about your specific circumstances.

We are a licensed and bonded legal document preparation service that specializes in the divorce process.  We look forward to hearing from you.

Santa Clarita Divorce Paralegal Offices In Santa Clarita

Posted by Tim Blankenship on

Santa Clarita Divorce Paralegal Offices In Santa Clarita

I have been really feeling the pressure to break from my current virtual / online divorce service format.  To date, we have been very successful in avoiding the traditional mold of a brick and mortar business model.

But lately it seems that more and more people feel like there is something wrong with your business if you don’t have an office location where they can physically drive to.  And this is despite the fact that I am a licensed and bonded legal document preparation service and give one heck of an explanation of how and why our online divorce service works in Santa Clarita.

So I have broken down and started looking at retail and industrial offices in Santa Clarita.  Now I remember why I did not want to get an office.  It is crazy expensive, even for a 5×5 cubicle in a not so good area of town.

So do I break my online divorce service format?  I guess it boils down to how many clients I may be losing by their subconscious telling them to stay away from a business that does not have a physical business address.

I did some research and Google’d “Public Perception Of Virtual Business” and found some interesting thoughts.  Want to know what the number one disadvantage of a virtual business model was?  The public perception was that your organization will not be around for long if they utilize a virtual business model.

I thought that was so interesting.  I see so many Santa Clarita restaurants and business’s closing shop and the perception is that virtual business’s will not be around long.  Did anyone care to mention that it was probably the inability to pay the rent that put them out of business in the first place?

In any case, I am just about to become a brick and mortar business so the public does not think we are on the way out or some sham business.

What’s your take on this subject?

 

Licensed Divorce Document Service In Santa Clarita

Posted by Tim Blankenship on

Licensed Divorce Document Service In Santa Clarita

If you have been reading our blog posts, you know that we are a licensed and bonded legal document preparation service.  We emphasize the fact that we are licensed because of the large amount of unlicensed paralegal services operating illegally in Santa Clarita.

We know for a fact that we are the only licensed divorce document preparation service in Santa Clarita.  But we see several folks calling themselves paralegals and who are not a licensed document preparation service.

Much has been said about these unlicensed paralegal services discussing their illegal operation.  Aside from them operating outside the law, they cast a negative shadow on the legal document service profession.

There is a reason that the County of Los Angeles requires you do become licensed.  They want to make sure you have the required skills, education and training to provide a legal document preparation service.  These unlicensed paralegal services are causing many problems for people who decide to use them.

For instance, I get at least one call per week from someone who hired an unlicensed paralegal to prepare their divorce paperwork.  They chose to work with the lowest bidder and learned the hard way that you get what you pay for.  Now they have to pay me to fix what the unlicensed paralegal did, or should I say didn’t do.

It is similar to when you hire a licensed contractor to do some work around your house.  You know you are going to pay more for excellent service and for them to do a good job.  They have a little more overhead because they had to pay for licenses, get educated, etc.  You won’t get that same service from the guys that hang out outside the home depot’s, but it will be cheaper.  You just can’t count on the fact that they will do it right.

We are a licensed and bonded legal document preparation service that specialized in the divorce process.  Please give us a call to learn more about our fixed fee divorce service.

We Can Finish Your Santa Clarita Divorce

Posted by Tim Blankenship on

We Can Finish Your Santa Clarita Divorce

Well, the calls keep coming in with folks who need help finalizing their divorce.  Trying to do your own divorce is a daunting task with all there is to know and learn about the divorce process.

But as I have mentioned in previous articles, the courts have one little dirty secret.  Want to know what it is?

The court is not reviewing any of your forms you complete and file with the court.  Everything you have done up to this point has not been reviewed by the court.

The first time anyone will look over your divorce documents is when you go to file your final judgment paperwork. Only then does someone go over your forms, and with a fine tooth comb.

That said, folks are left with a false sense of security in thinking they have done everything right along the way.  As hard as you have worked to get the forms right, you come to learn that you did it all wrong and have to start over, re-file forms or worse, not even know what you did wrong.

I had another call today from someone who just got tired of going to the court to try to figure it out.  They made me laugh, when they said they were tired of having to go wait in long lines to get into court, go through the metal detectors and then wait in line again at the self help center.  Nobody said it would be fun.

You are not alone if you share these frustrations in trying to get through your divorce.  Especially after you have submitted your judgment, thought everything was just fine, then 3 months later have your divorce judgment rejected.

Well, there is help.  We can do a complete review of your divorce paperwork if you have had it rejected.  We can even do the review before you submit it to make sure that everything is done right.

We will go through every form you have filed, check to make sure everything is filled out correctly, make any necessary changes and then complete the final judgment paperwork.

For more information about our judgment review process, please give us a call.

Disclosure During Uncontested Divorce | Santa Clarita

Posted by Tim Blankenship on

Disclosure During Uncontested Divorce | Santa Clarita

When you go through a divorce, one of the biggest elements is the disclosure process.  This means disclosure of your income and expenses as well as a detailed schedule of assets and debts.

I am asked why we have to complete the disclosure process when it is an uncontested divorce.  The easy answer is because the courts say we have to.  But in reality the disclosure procedure is very important, even in an uncontested divorce.

Divorce is all about disclosure if you think out it.  It boils down to dividing up what you have collectively.  What you had before marriage and after separation is yours (Separate Property) and what you accumulated during marriage (Community Property) is supposed to be divided equally.

This is why the courts want you to complete all the disclosure paperwork.  The only way the court can know if the property and debt is being evenly divided is if it is disclosed.  But in an uncontested divorce the court will generally not get involved, so the disclosure process is meant to inform the parties of what is on the table to divide.

The best way to do your disclosures during an uncontested divorce is for one of the spouses to do theirs first.  In most cases, the disclosures will be almost identical, except for perhaps a few accounts that the other spouse opened that you are not aware of, etc.

So what we do in our office is work with one spouse to complete their disclosures.  We get everything copied, signed and served on the other spouse.  Then we make a duplicate set, but change out the party information on the paperwork and ask the other spouse to add anything that is not on the disclosures.

Completing the disclosures this way during an uncontested divorce makes it a much more simpler process.  Be careful!  Nobody likes doing the disclosures because they are a pain in the butt.  Don’t get hung up on it, just get it done.

If you need assistance completing your financial disclosures during divorce please give us a call.  We are a licensed and bonded legal document preparation service that specializes in the divorce process.  We are headquartered in Santa Clarita, CA and serve all of Los Angeles County.

Is Your Divorce In The San Fernando Valley?

Posted by Tim Blankenship on

Is Your Divorce In The San Fernando Valley?

If you have been reading our blogs, you know that we have multiple sites that are dedicated to certain geographic locations.  And we like to talk about our new sites when we get them up and running.

We have just created a new divorce paralegal site with great information about the divorce process and our services in the San Fernando Valley.  You can also visit our new site at www.paralegaldivorcesanfernandovalley.com

Yes, we know it is a long name, but it does speak for itself.  We are hoping that the search engines will pick it up faster for this reason so we can get the word out about our affordable divorce service in the San Fernando Valley.

You may have come across our other site which you can find at www.divorce818.com.  This site also talks about divorce paralegal information in the San Fernando Valley, but it also has information about all the cities that fall within the 818 area code.  If we do any type of paid advertising it will probably be with the divorce818 site due to its length.

We will attempt to get as much information about our paralegal divorce San Fernando Valley blog out on the net so that folks have access to our self help videos that can show you how to complete the divorce process and navigate the court system on your own if you wanted to.

Short of that, we simply wanted to have a place folks can turn to for trusted information about the divorce process in the San Fernando Valley.

If you are going through a divorce in the San Fernando Valley, you should know that we are the only divorce paralegal service that specializes in divorce.  We also have a 100% online divorce service.

For more information about our San Fernando Divorce paralegal service, please give us a call or visit www.paralegaldivorcesanfernandovalley.com