In The Business Of Divorce In Santa Clarita

Posted by Tim Blankenship on

Yes, we are in the business of divorce in Santa Clarita, but more importantly we are in the business of helping people.

We have been doing this business for a while now and word is getting out that there are better options to getting a divorce in Santa Clarita other than hiring a divorce attorney or trying to do your divorce on your own.

As 2013 winds down and we have a chance to catch our breath, I took a count of how many divorce cases we handled this year so far.  The count right now is 212 cases. That is 212 divorce cases we have handled this year so far.

We expect next year to be much more than this year and what is interesting about this number is how much in attorney fees we have saved people this year.

With the average cost of a a divorce attorney here in Santa Clarita wanting $5,000 to walk in the door, even for an uncontested divorce case, we have saved people a lot of money.

This year, we kept our pricing very competitive, with the average cost of using our Santa Clarita divorce service at $699.  We hope to keep our pricing strategy the same next year as well.  But you can see if our services did not exist, it would cost the average person an additional $4,301 to complete their uncontested divorce or have to complete their own divorce paperwork.

Now I know that not everyone would have used an attorney, but if they had those 212 cases we handled so far this year would have totaled a staggering $1,060,000 dollars.  Yes, that was millions and we were using a very low figure of $5,000 per case which is low.

This means we saved our clients more than $900,000.

Wait, maybe I should be a lawyer.  Those guys are making a killing!

So we are in the business of divorce in Santa Clarita, but we are also in the business of saving you money and providing an excellent service.

When you are ready to get started with your divorce or for more information, please feel free to give us a call at 661-281-0266.

 

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.

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.

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.

Filing For Legal Separation Is Not Faster | Santa Clarita Divorce

Posted by Tim Blankenship on

We have been writing a lot about legal separation vs divorce lately because we are trying to clear some misconceptions up about legal separation.  In this article we are discussing why filing for legal separation is not faster than filing for divorce.

In the other articles we discussed the fact that Yes, we do handle legal separation cases and the differences between legal separation and divorce.

I received a call yesterday where the parties wanted to legally separate because they thought it would be faster than filing for divorce.  This is just not true.

The main reason people think that legal separation is faster in California is because unlike divorce, you don’t have the 6 month cooling off period.  Let me discuss what that is real quick.

When you go through a divorce in California, you have to wait 6 months before your divorce can be finalized.  That is not the case with legal separation.  However, the cooling off period is not the reason a divorce will take 6 months.

Currently, the Los Angeles County Courts are experiencing huge delays in filing of their divorce and legal separation cases.  To get your case reviewed and approved, it is taking up to 9 months to have your divorce or legal separation case completed.

Perfect World vs. Real World

In a perfect world, a legal separation case is technically faster because there is no waiting period before the judge can sign off on it.  So in a perfect world, you could file your legal separation case, serve your spouse, fill out all the remaining forms and walk up to the judge and get it signed.  And it would be done.  Your legal separation would be completed.

In the real world, this is just not possible.  You would file your legal separation case, serve your spouse, fill out all the remaining forms and then submit your judgment to the court.  Then you will wait…., wait…., and wait some more.  Right now as much as 9 months, but usually around 6 months due to the courts existing backlog.

With this being said, legal separation is going to take just as long as a divorce.

I hope that answers the question on whether legal separation is faster than divorce.  I know there is a lot of information out there but unfortunately they do not apply the information to real world scenarios.

Yes We Do Legal Separation Cases In Santa Clarita

Posted by Tim Blankenship on

We have been getting a lot of calls from people who want to file for legal separation so I felt another article about legal separation was warranted.

First let me answer the first question we get about legal separation which is, “Do you guys (us) do Legal Separation cases?”.

The answer is, “Yes we do Legal Separation Cases”

But… Whenever someone calls us with legal separation questions, I always make sure to find out why they are thinking about filing for legal separation instead of divorce.

I wrote a great article about the differences between legal separation and divorce (click on that link to read it) and I usually talk people out of filing for legal separation.

Here is why.

There are only a few reasons why people should file for legal separation. The first being religious.  Some people’s religion prohibits or frowns upon divorce.  Another reason is for medical reasons.  If you get divorced your spouse is not longer a dependent and can no longer be on your healthcare.  Where a illness prevents them from getting their own insurance and you don’t plan on remarrying, this might be a good option.

Of all the calls we get for legal separation, only one really was a candidate for legal separation and had real reasons for the legal separati0n vs divorce.

Most of the people who have called for legal separation think it is better to first legally separate before filing for divorce.  Sometimes, they think doing the legal separation is faster, but it is not.

These folks have also said that they were later planning on divorcing after filing the legal separation.

Here is the problem with that.

The paperwork for divorce and separation are the same.  There is just one box that is checked differently.  If you go through the entire legal separation process and the judgment is approved and finalized and later you want to file for divorce, you will have to file an entirely new case.

You can’t just change a legal separation filing into divorce.  You would have to prepare a brand new divorce case, fill out all the same paperwork and pay the filing fees again.

We are a license and bonded legal document preparation firm that specializes in divorce (and legal separation).  Please give us a call for more information.

 

 

How To File For Divorce In Palmdale | Lancaster CA

Posted by Tim Blankenship on

Since we specialize in providing affordable divorce services and have a lot of clients in Palmdale and Lancaster, I thought I would write a quick “How To File For Divorce” article.

Now, just so you know, there is not much of a difference filing for divorce in Palmdale and Lancaster.  The process for filing divorce in Los Angeles County is pretty much the same, but the Lancaster Court has a few things they do different.

So lets get into it.

A mistake people make is thinking they can file their own divorce.  Wait! what do you mean I can’t file my own divorce?  Okay… Hold on.  What I mean to say is that it is possible to file your own divorce, but the odds of you “successfully” completing it is a different story.

The first thing you should do is find a reputable divorce paralegal service to help you with your divorce.  We are hoping that you decide to use our Lancaster divorce service and not one of the other antelope valley paralegal services that have a bad reputation and reviews.

If you decide to use our service you won’t have to worry about figuring out how to file for divorce in Palmdale or Lancaster.  We take care of the entire process for you.

Here is what we will do for you:

  • Prepare all your forms
  • We don’t use annoying questionnaires
  • We will file your case in Lancaster
  • We will serve your documents
  • Prepare all mandatory financial disclosures
  • Prepare final judgment (agreement)
  • Complete your entire case for one flat fee.

I realize that this article turned more into a “Why You Should Use Our Divorce Service” So for those of you that really want to know how to file for divorce in Palmdale and Lancaster please click on this link. You will find a video that will walk you step by step on how to fill out the divorce forms.

We are the only licensed and bonded legal document preparation firm in Los Angeles County that specializes in only divorce.  Make sure your divorce gets done right the first time and give us a call.