We Got Your Back In Your Divorce | Santa Clarita Divorce

Posted by Tim Blankenship on

I came into the office this morning and as usual already had messages from new potential clients who wanted to get started in their divorce.  Most people give a little explanation regarding what is going on.

The message I received today was from a gentleman who said he had started his divorce but now felt he needed a little “backup”.  I know exactly what he is talking about when he says he needs backup.

Here is what generally happens.  Folks are told that they can complete their own divorce, which is true.  But what they are not told is that it is a long, complicated and painful process if you are undertaking it on your own.

So folks will start their divorce and begin to prepare the legal documents.  At some point, they realize that they need help and begin to get frustrated with the process.  What started off with as just filing out a few forms can quickly turn ugly.

I get these types of calls from people at different points in the paperwork.  Some call immediately after picking up the paperwork and take one look at it and give us a call.  Others will attempt to fill out the initial filing forms and file them with the court.  And still others will try to complete the whole thing and even submit the judgment.

There is one common situation among all these folks.  That is how much of their own time they are going to waste before they decide to call me.  In most cases the more work the person does, the more issues we have to fix and re-file and amend forms.

Our recommendation is to call us before you ever get started on your divorce.  Of course, that wont always be the case but you can call us at any point in your divorce.  Regardless where you are at in your divorce we can pick up where you left off, complete a review of everything you have done and get it finished up for you.

As the person who called this morning, we will have your back in your divorce. Call us when you need assistance with your divorce.

Get The Facts About Divorce In Santa Clarita

Posted by Tim Blankenship on

We are known in Santa Clarita for providing the facts about divorce.  Pretty much that is all we talk about, day in and day out.

The interesting thing is that we have met with clients who have already consulted with a divorce attorney and they always tell us that they learned more about divorce and the divorce process than they did during a consultation with a lawyer.

In fact, we recently had a client write us a nice Yelp comment which basically said that after working and speaking with multiple attorneys,  she learned more from us than she did with them.

We must be really smart, huh?  But here is why there is a difference. When you go to speak to an attorney, they are going to talk to you about the law.  They are not going to tell you how to do things or about the divorce process because if you hire them, you will not be involved in all that goes into getting divorced.

The other reason we go into so much detail about the divorce process is because it answers the “Why” behind why things are being done.  Often an attorney will simply tell you they are going to do something, but not tell you why they are doing it.

We want you to know not only the “Why” behind things but the how, when and where.  You see, when you work with our divorce document preparation firm, you are representing yourself.  So it is important that you understand all that goes into making a decision and so you better understand what is happening at all points along the process.

We will give you the fact about divorce and give your options on how to handle them.  We will do everything except give you legal advice and represent you in court.  Outside of those restrictions, we can do just about everything else.

Do You Have Unanswered Questions About Divorce | Santa Clarita Divorce

Posted by Tim Blankenship on

I just had a client in the other day who had a ton of questions about divorce.  At one point in the conversation, he breathed a noticeable sigh of relief.

I knew what was happening, but still asked him what was going on in his head.  He said that he had so many unanswered questions about divorce that they just kept rolling around in his head.  He went on to say that he had tried to figure things out by researching online, etc but that without someone actually explaining them to him, he was having difficulty making sense of it all.  After speaking to me for about 15 minutes, he had all the answers.

So even though I write tons of content on our blogs about divorce, there is still that void of information. What I think it is, is that you can read about certain aspects of how divorce works, but it is difficult to apply what you read to your own situation.

There are also a lot of “What if’s” that people have about divorce.  Again, this goes back to applying the divorce process to your own particular situation.

So what do you do if you have unanswered questions about divorce.  Well, for starters, you can get a lot of information off this blog your reading right now.  Make sure to do some searches on our blog (not Google) and you will find more than 1000 articles that we have written.  In addition, we have over 100 videos and podcasts we have done.

But even after you do this, you are still going to have questions.  The best part is that we have the answers to your divorce questions and help answer them and apply the divorce process to your specific situation.

So after spending some time reading and learning, make sure to give us a call so we can discuss what exactly is happening and address your concerns so you have a better understanding of the divorce process in Santa Clarita.

How To Get Affordable Access To Divorce Services In Santa Clarita

Posted by Tim Blankenship on

I have spoke about the issues surrounding the high costs of obtaining legal services for divorce.  The costs are outrageous and folks going through divorce are no longer willing to pay these high costs.  Why?  Well, for one, they don’t see the value in what attorneys are offering.

Divorce attorneys are starting to feel the heat as more and more attorneys enter the marketplace and more and more potential clients opt for other solutions to assist them with their divorce.

Take our divorce services for example.  What started as a simple divorce document preparation firm now resulted in our handling even the most complex divorce cases that go to trial.  Of course, our clients are representing themselves, but they are saving countless thousands in legal fees.

The benefit is that they have professionally prepared divorce documents and access to our legal document assistants that have worked in the courts, for large law firms and in the self help centers who can provide information on court procedure and how to get through their divorce.

Demand for our divorce service in Santa Clarita is very high right now and I believe that divorce attorneys are losing business to us.  Of course, there will always be a need for legal advice and representation in court, but outside of that, we are able to take a divorce case from start to finish.

The interesting thing is that attorneys are trying to find a way around this and not lose business to companies like ours.  There is a lot of talk about unbundled divorce services, otherwise known as limited scope representation.

Whenever a client of mine has to use an attorney, I always advise them to use an attorney for in a limited scope fashion instead of an outright retainer for their services.  This is a more cost effective way of hiring an attorney for your divorce.

Attorneys have realized the need to provide limited scope divorce services because of the high cost of full attorney representation.  They realize that many people are unwilling to pay the high fees or flat out can’t afford it.  And if they want to capture some of that revenue they are going to have to figure out a way to offer services that are a little more affordable.

 

Requesting Post Divorce Judgment Financial Information | Santa Clarita Divorce

Posted by Tim Blankenship on

Did you know there was a way to obtain post judgment financial information on your spouse without having to go to court?  I didn’t until recently and neither do  a lot of attorneys.

This article will discuss how to request  your spouses financial information when there has already been a judgment in your case.  Why would you need to do this, you ask?  Well, if you have an order for spousal support or child support, there may be a time when you want to request a modification of the amount of money you are paying.

Generally, there needs to be a change of circumstances to request a hearing to modify either child support or spousal support.  A change in your spouses income would qualify for this.  But how do you know if your spouse is making more money?  That is where this tool is easy and does not require you to file your motion first or any formal discovery.

Here is what the family code section says on this.

“At any time following a judgment of marital (or domestic partnership) dissolution or legal separation, or a determination of paternity that provides for payment of support, either the payer or payee may serve a request on the other party for the production of a completed current income and expense declaration form, without leave of court. Fam C §3664(a). This statutory right to obtain financial information from the other party provides for the inexpensive discovery of facts before a party seeks the modification or termination of an order for child, family, or spousal support. See Fam C §§3660–3668. There is no requirement that an order to show cause or motion for modification of support be pending. Fam C §3662. This discovery technique may not be used more than once every 12 months. Fam C §3663.”

For those of us that don’t ready legalese, here is what it says in plain English.  After a judgment in your divorce you can request your spouses income information without going to court no more than once per year. (Couldn’t they have just said that?)

So, if that is the case, how do you go about doing this?  As the requesting party you should serve a Request For Production of an Income and Expense Declaration After Judgment Form (FL-396).

The party served has 35 days to complete the income and expense report and return it along with the prior years federal and state tax return and 2 months of pay stubs.

If the responding party fails to return them or is incomplete regarding any wage information, you can then serve a request for income and benefit information directly on their employer using the Request for income and benefit information from employer (Form FL-397)

Here is a link to the FL-396 Request for production of income and expense after judgment

Here is a link to the FL-397 – Request for Income and Benefit Information from Employer

If you would prefer to have our company prepare and serve these documents for you, please feel free to contact our office.

Divorce Service The Buzz Of Santa Clarita

Posted by Tim Blankenship on

Lately I have heard from several different sources that our divorce services are being talked about by many people in our Santa Clarita community.  And yes, the talk is all good.

This past week I was at BJ’s Brewery in Santa Clarita and sitting at the bar.  I struck up a conversation with 2 younger guys sitting next to me.  Long story short, they both worked for web developers here in Santa Clarita.  One worked for Scorpion Designs and the other for NextClient.  These companies provide a variety of web services for attorneys.

After mentioning who I was and what I did, they stated that they had recently been contacted by someone that does family law and told them that I was their competition.  I was quite fascinated to learn that another person in the legal industry had noticed my site and to the point that they told their web developers that I was their competition and that they wanted to have a website like mine.

It felt good to be acknowledged for the hard work that goes into writing my blogs and providing the divorce information in Santa Clarita.

The second time I heard folks talking about me was from one of my clients.  They said they were at a Santa Clarita hair salon having their hair done and in the chair next to her, she could hear them talking about my company and mentioning me by name.  The said the were explaining what a good, valuable service we provide.

So it was nice to hear, on two occasions, that people are talking about our divorce service.  We have certainly met a demand for providing a professional, affordable divorce service in Santa Clarita.

To those that are out in Santa Clarita talking about our divorce service and spreading the word, we thank you.  Please continue to talk about us and send us your friends, family and acquaintances.  We will take good care of them.

 

Filed For Divorce But May Want To Reconcile | Santa Clarita Divorce

Posted by Tim Blankenship on

I had a newer client call me today and ask if it was possible to slow down the divorce process because they were thinking they might be able to reconcile.

We had filed their divorce earlier in the month and had mailed out the divorce documents to his wife.  We were doing a simplified service where the spouse only need sign saying she received the documents.  Their question was whether they should sign the notice of acknowledgment of receipt or just hold off on everything.

Here are your options if you fall into this situation.  First, you can simply not sign anything.  Just hold off on having your spouse served and wait to see if things work out.  This is what the 6 months cooling off period is for.  The only issue you may run into is this.  If you don’t serve your spouse within 60 to 90 days, the court will set a case management conference to have you appear in court and explain the situation of what is going on.

So this first option is good idea if your spouse knew you filed for divorce.  Why do I say this?  Because if you filed for divorce and your spouse has no idea and then received a notice in the mail from the court addressed from you and opens it, they will see that you filed for divorce.  This will not be a good day for you if this happens.

The next option is to use the notice of acknowledgement of receipt of divorce form and have them sign it.  They can sign in and then just don’t file it.  Hold onto it until you are sure you are going through with the divorce.  This will not slow anything down if you later decide to move forward.  The date your spouse was served will be the day they signed it, even if you file it months later.

One more option would simply be to complete the process of service of your divorce.  Then you don’t have to worry about the court setting any court dates.  But serving your spouse can be kind of official and if you are trying to reconcile, you may want to avoid serving your spouse as that almost always sets a negative tone.

Divorce661 Meets Growing Demand For Affordable Divorce In Santa Clarita

Posted by Tim Blankenship on

As our business continues to grow by leaps and bounds, it is only because we are meeting a growing demand for affordable divorce services in Santa Clarita.

I believe the demand for affordable divorce services has always been present. The problem was that, until we arrived, there had not been anyone providing this service.

Furthermore, there has not been anyone talking about or marketing this business model.

People are starting to realize that they do not need an attorney to get divorced. Even in cases where folks were traditionally hiring attorneys for their divorce case, they are turning to us for an option that will not break the bank.

We are finding ourselves handing more and more complex divorce cases where people are interested in saving money, but at the same time receiving a high quality divorce service. Our clients are able to negotiate the divorce process and represent themselves due to our expansive knowledge on divorce and family law matters.

Where traditional document preparers stop at simply just filling out forms, we have taken it several steps beyond and assist people further by explaining the divorce process, how things work and prepare people to go into court when necessary.

We are the only ones to do this, because we are the only divorce service in Los Angeles County who have worked for the Los Angeles Superior Courts, Self Help Centers and major area family law firms. Nobody else has the experience we have therefore they are limited in the information they can provide.

Despite the fact that we provide a superior divorce service, we have kept our pricing model consistent with that of our competitors. We did not think raising our prices would make much sense. Instead, we felt that with our knowledge and expertise, we would simply provide a more valuable service for the same price.

If Santa Clarita Divorce Attorneys Trust Us, Shouldn’t You?

Posted by Tim Blankenship on

When you decide to work with a divorce service to prepare your divorce forms in Santa Clarita, you should use a company that you trust.  There is simply too much at stake here.

I get a good portion of referrals from divorce attorneys in the Santa Clarita Valley.  I think this speaks volumes about the level of trust they have for me to send me their clients that either can no longer afford their services or from potential clients that don’t really need an attorney.

The point I am trying to make here is that if divorce attorneys in the Santa Clarita valley trust me enough to refer business to me, then that should be a good indicator that we are a company that can be trusted to do a good job in preparing your divorce papers and helping you through the divorce process.

We have a great relationship with divorce attorneys in the Santa Clarita Valley.  We refer clients back and forth.  We sometimes have clients that start working with us and then the case goes sideways and we need to refer them out for an attorney. Sometimes just to get a consultation for legal advice and sometimes they end up retaining them for one reason or another.

We don’t compete with attorneys so we are not a threat to them.  We provide a valuable self help divorce service in Santa Clarita and don’t give legal advice and don’t represent people in court.  That is what the divorce attorneys are for.

But as far as trust, there are many ways you can determine this.  There is this thing called “Social Proof” which is a fancy word for being recommended or having someone reviews written about a company.  For instance, we have lots of 5 star reviews on Yelp.  This is social proof as our clients have reviewed our business.

Attorneys sending us business is another type of social proof.  They would not send us business if we did not do a good job.

We also get lots of emails and sometimes letters from our current and past clients thanking us for helping them out. We post those on our own website which you can find under our testimonials page.

We are a divorce service in Santa Clarita that you can trust.  We have helped hundreds of clients through the divorce process in Santa Clarita and also help the clients sent to us from Santa Clarita Law Firms.  If divorce attorney’s trust us, shouldn’t you?

Our Santa Clarita Divorce Service Is More Than Just Filling Out Forms

Posted by Tim Blankenship on

The service we provide, that of assisting folks going through divorce is more than just filling out forms.  We provide our clients with a complete understanding of the divorce process learned from numerous years in the industry.

As a legal document preparation company, I suppose it is easy to assume that all we do is fill out divorce forms.  That is why I wanted to talk about this issue.  If you are one of our clients, you already know how much information we provide about the divorce process and how the courts work.  We are there when you have questions along the way.  That is where are real value is.  Anybody can fill out divorce forms.  Well, not really, but just wanted to emphasize my point.

So what kind of things can you learn when working with us?  Well, for starters, everything there is to know about divorce.

Let me give you an example.  Many times we will have clients come to us and say they have an uncontested divorce.  Then somewhere down the line, things change and now the parties are not in agreement and we have to take another approach.

This other approach may be us talking to them about possible mediation options.  Sometimes, we have to help one of the parties file a motion with the court asking for some type of temporary order.  Really, the sky is the limit.  And when these things happen, you are going to want to be working with a company that has the experience working with divorce courts and divorce law firms so we can guide you through the process.

Even for those of you that think your divorce will be a no brain-er, there are still lots of questions that you will have about divorce that have to answered.  You will be glad you made the choice to work with us regardless if you have the easy uncontested divorce or a more difficult case requiring the use of our extensive knowledge about divorce.