How To Get Your California Divorce Done Right The First Time

Posted by Tim Blankenship on

How To Get Your California Divorce Done Right The First Time

Today we are talking about getting your divorce done right the first time.

And this week we’ve been talking all about pro pers and people representing themselves, those of you deciding, should I file my own case, should I try and do the paperwork and a lot of people will call and say “Tim, I’ve tried to file the paperwork or I started the paperwork, I printed it out.”

So, if you’re considering this, you’re going to go through that process. Some people will simply say, I’m not going to deal with this. I want to get it done right the first time.

That’s the topic of this video, how to get your California divorce done right the first time.

Obviously the answer is to use a professional service like ours. I know it’s very self-serving but as a matter of fact, the way the courts have their procedures and processes set up, the paperwork being as complicated as it is.

The procedure of filing and serving and doing everything right can also be very time consuming, not to mention confusing and frustrating and we have helped so many people who have attempted to do their own divorce.

Attempted to just start the paperwork, tried to fill it out or maybe they even went to court and filed it and what we’re finding is, and these are smart folks, don’t get me wrong.

These folks are just having trouble, difficulty, taking months, years in some cases trying to get their California divorce completed and if they realized what they are up against initially, they all said they never would have attempted it on their own.

So for those of you thinking, you might want to give it a shot, by all means, go ahead if that’s what you want to do. If you’re like me, no one can tell me something, I have to learn it on my own.

So if that’s you, go ahead and get started, try and do it and when you get stuck give us a call. We can always pick up where you left off.

Just keep in mind that usually we have to start from the beginning because even if you miss a single check box on the initial petition or you do something wrong, we have to start over from the very beginning and in most cases you’re going to go back and start everything over again anyways.

We suggest you just start with us in the beginning but everyone is going to be different. So, with that said, if you want to get it done right the first time, use a professional service. Give us a call, we’d be happy to help.

We have flat fee services. You can go to divorce661.com and look at our pricing, it’s right there for you, there’s no tricks. It’s the full cost all in aside from your filing fees.

Give us a call, I’d be happy to talk to you over the phone. I can give you a consultation and let you know exactly what we can do for you. And we do handle divorce cases all throughout California so regardless of where you’re at just give us a call and we’ll take care of it for you.

661-281-0266 is the way to get a hold of us. We’ll talk to you soon!

How To File California Divorce Documents By Mail

Posted by Tim Blankenship on

How To File California Divorce Documents By Mail

Today we’re talking about something very simple, something that people do wrong quite a bit and this is how to submit your document to the court.

Anything that you file with the court, you’re going to want to have an original, with original signatures. This would be, obviously your initial filing paper. Summon and petition or the declaration regarding service of your disclosures and of course the judgment.

Everything you submit needs to be submitted with an original which is hole punched to the top and at least one copy and more importantly, if you’re filing your documents by mail which you can do. You don’t have to go to court every time.

If you file by mail or if you file specific document like the request to enter default, you need to submit original, probably two copies so you can get two back and one to give your spouse if need be or one is fine. Some documents require an original and two copies the like request to enter default.

But more importantly, you need to include envelopes. So what this means is, if you’re submitting something to court and you want it to return to you and of course you do want the documents to return to you like the proof of service, request to enter default, things at that nature. You need to supply the envelopes with postage address from the court to you.

Otherwise, they are not going to put in envelope, they are not going to write your address in there and they are not going to pay with the postage so the file, the document and it’s just going to sit in the court and you are not going to know if it was ever received or what happen with it or get a copy. Now, you’re going to have to go to court.

Specifically the request to enter default, it says on the form that you need to file it with return envelopes to both petitioner and respondent and you need to have an original and two copies.

If you want documents back from the court which of course you do, make sure to send copies, original and copies and envelopes coming back to you with postage paid so you can get proof of your filing and especially when it comes to your judgment.

You need to have three sets if you’re submitting your judgment with your request to enter default with your notice of entry of judgment. You have to have three different sets of envelopes both to petitioner and respondent when you file your judgment.

There’s lot to know when it comes to divorce, that’s why we have this business. We can help you with your divorce case anywhere in California. Please call me at 661-281-0266. I’d be happy to give you a consultation over the phone and then we can talk about how we can help you with your divorce.

Tim Blankenship, divorce661.com.

How To Download IRS Tax Returns Online

Posted by Tim Blankenship on

How To Download IRS Tax Returns Online

Today we’re talking about how you can now get your IRS Tax Returns online and that may be important if you’re going through divorce in California at least.

Recently they have instituted the need to exchange tax returns. That’s one reason if you don’t have them or you don’t have copies or you’ve lost them. You can now get copies of them online and I’m going to share with you the IRS link to do that.

Another reason you may need your tax return and we came across this recently, is if you’re trying to get spousal support and you can’t prove the other parties income and maybe you don’t have the copies of your tax return and you need to see what’s their incoming was the prior year to help with determining spousal support.

You’d want to get a copy of your tax returns. In the past you had to ask to get your transcripts by mail and there is an application and it took five to ten days, I’m just looking at the IRS site now.

But now you can get your transcripts, your IRS tax returns online instantaneously after answering a series of security questions.

The IRS link is, www.irs.gov/individuals/get-transcript, and that’s the direct link to IRS site to get your transcript online. I just want to share that with folks.

I had a client trying to get their transcripts recently, their tax returns recently because they’re going to court and the judge wasn’t going to order spousal support without there being any evidence of income and because they have been separated for such a long time.

She didn’t have any evidence of pay stubs or things at that nature and so the only way to do that is to get the tax returns but you might say why you just don’t go the tax prepare or if you use an online, why you just don’t print a copy.

Well, this was a case where they used a physical tax-preparer and that tax-preparer happened to be a relative of the spouse who was not turning over the documents intentionally.

Don’t suppose that would happen in too many scenarios but I did want to share this link in case you are trying to get copies of your tax returns and you need them quickly and you now can get them online so I hope to give you that link was helpful.

We do specialize in divorce in California if you happen to need help in that area. Please feel free to give us a call. 661-281-0266.

Helping Deployed Service Members With California Divorce

Posted by Tim Blankenship on

Helping Deployed Service Members With California Divorce

Today I just to talk about our service to our military folks. I’ve done a video or two in the past and I think its being seen by our military folks who are going through divorce.

I had a call yesterday and it was a sailor in the Navy obviously, overseas, deployed on a ship and he lives in San Diego of course as many as our California Naval personnel do.

I didn’t get where he was at the ocean, I’m sure it was something he don’t want to talk about anyways or what the ship he was on.

But he was calling me, he’d found me online. I think he probably found me o YouTube or one of the blog post I’ve written about helping up the military.

But anyways, we’re getting a lot of military folks calling us who are deployed overseas, whether it be in Germany, we’ve had people in Australia and this may be the first call that I know of where I was getting a call from them and they we’re actually on ship and being deployed.

So, for those folks who are in the military, regardless of the branch of service. I just want to let you know, you don’t have to wait until you come back from deployment if you want to get the ball rolling.

We are going to help him file his divorce. He lives in San Diego, his wife lives in Los Angeles and what we’re going to do is we’re going to file his case for him.

We have a phone appointment set.

We were able to work with him with the various time zones to see what would be a good time that we can meet and we’re going to complete his entire divorce process over the phone and via email and coordinate that with his wife here in Los Angeles and take care of his divorce for him.

If you kind of fall in that scenario and you need to get through the process and you need someone on the ground helping you out so you can go on with your business in the service. We can take care of business for you.

I’m a former Marine. If you can see on my video, on the upper left you’ll see my cover and my honourable discharge on the center of the screen, so you have someone on your side.

We’ll take care and help you with your divorce here in California. And then just keep in mind also if you’re watching this, you’re a residency has to be in California for us to help you.

If you’re domicile or where you live when you’re not deployed is California, we can help you anywhere in California but only in California.

Tim Blankenship, divorce661.com, specializing in California divorce.

Thanks for serving!

Filling Out Divorce Forms Is Just Half The Battle In California Divorce

Posted by Tim Blankenship on

Filling Out Divorce Forms Is Just Half The Battle In California Divorce

Today I want to talk about what the true value of our service in preparing divorce documents in California really is.

I get a lot of people that come to me and say, “Tim, I went to look at the forms online and it looks like it’s something I can do”.

I’ve heard a lot of people try to do it by themselves, they’ve to the court website and try to use the forms, fill out the paperwork and usually what will happen is they’ll get frustrated and decide to hire us to prepare their California divorce documents.

But us, as a legal document preparation firm filling out your forms for you is only one half of service and is not even the important part of the service.

Obviously it’s important that your documents are done correctly and they’re filed correctly and they’re served correctly.

But what people don’t understand where the real value is in what we do is in the information that we provide to folks.

We’re here to answer your questions about procedure and process, help dividing up your property, help you determine spousal support, child support, a parenting plan and talk to you about all the different things that go into a divorce.

I think if you’re trying to fill out your own paperwork, I think you’re being very short sided.

That’s just one portion of the divorce process. It’s a divorce. It’s a major step in your life. You want to make sure it’s done correctly and you’re going to have a lot of questions.

So my advice to you is before you get started, give us a call, learn what information we can give you, how we can help you throughout the process not only in filling out your forms, serving them.

Taking them down to court, saving you time and effort and frustration and ultimately money but we are here as a resource and answer questions anytime you have them, whether be in person meeting or over the phone or via email.

It’s one of the biggest values you’re going to get in using our service is having a person there who has worked for the courts for several years which I have, who has worked for a family law attorney for several years and now who has been doing this and processing several hundred divorce cases every year.

We see a lot of things and we have a lot of information from various different areas. The courts, family law, and then now helping people representing themselves get through their divorce.

Keep that in mind when deciding whether you want to do your divorce or not on your own or get a professional company like us to do it.

It’s not just the filling out the forms, which we obviously do a great job at. It’s the information that we can provide you throughout the process.

Tim Blankenship, divorce661.com, we specialize in divorce in California. Please call us, we’d love to help you get through your divorce. We’ll talk to you soon.

Filing Request To Enter Default In CA Divorce When Spouses Live Together

Posted by Tim Blankenship on

Filing Request To Enter Default In CA Divorce When Spouses Live Together

Today we came across something interesting. We had a client who gives us a call.

They were attempting to do their own divorce and they’re having trouble all along the way but specifically in the area of trying to file their request to enter default.

And when they came to us they had had the default rejected and it was for a reason that we hadn’t seen before.

We’ve never had this problem and I don’t know if it’s because we are filing paperwork for folks in a professional manner and the courts know who we are or because these person are representing themselves.

But this is what it was in regards to.

So the default was rejected, she had filed the request to enter default and it was rejected and the rejection letter from the court said, “If petitioner and respondent reside at the same address or the address of the respondent on the default request is different with the address on the proof of service, petitioner must submit a declaration under penalty of perjury explaining why.”

So what we get out of these is if you file for divorce and you’re still living with your spouse and you use that same address on the petition for you and your spouse.

They basically want to know why you are filing for a default if your spouse is there in the same household. Why wouldn’t they respond, why wouldn’t she do a hybrid or a default with agreement.

I guess it’s an interesting topic because we’ve filed many cases where the husband and wife live together throughout the divorce for financial reasons. Only deciding to separate once the divorce is actually finalized.

We haven’t ever run across this, I don’t know if this is a new rule of doing so but it appears now that if you’re using the same address for both petitioner and respondent and you’re filing a default case. You need to provide a written declaration of why this is the case.

And I would assume the answer would be, we’re still living together for financial reasons and petitioner and respondent still residing together and we’re filing a default because we don’t want to pay for the other filing fee. Or we’re filing a default because we’re in agreement so there’s no reason to respond.

Those would probably be some acceptable reasons for your written declaration. So, it’s not a big deal.

What they’re trying to avoid, I gather, is having someone file, saying they were served and then defaulting and the person actually not knowing that the divorce was ever finalized.

I think that’s what the courts are trying to prevent happen. Kind of like a fraudulent divorce where people finalize the divorce and the other person never even knew the divorce was happening. That’s what I get out of this particular rejection letter.

So, I’m going to talk about this a little bit more in future videos but this was something new that came up that we hadn’t seen.

So if you are representing yourself, keep in mind if you use the same address, it appears now that you need a declaration explaining why you’re filing a default when you live with the same location and your spouse should be available to respond or enter into a written agreement with you.

Tim Blankenship, divorce661.com, we handle divorce cases all throughout California. Please give us a call at 661-281-0266. I’d be happy to give you a free consultation over the phone.

Divorce Paralegal Service In Westwood, CA

Posted by Tim Blankenship on

Divorce Paralegal Service In Westwood, CA

Today we are talking to our friends in Westwood, California.

We’re talking about what we can do to help you with your divorce.

Now, we’re located in Santa Clarita, California but we do have state-wide divorce service where we can help you from start to finish with your divorce and I want to talk to you a little bit about what we can do for you and how we can help you save money getting through your divorce.

We are full service, that means that we fill out all the forms, we go down the court for you, we file them, we serve them, we will do all the financial disclosures that are mandatory by the court.

All the processes and procedures will be taken care of by us so you don’t have to worry about what forms do you have to fill out or what you have to do next, we take care of all that.

We also will prepare your final judgment, also known as the agreement. Now, this includes everything. From distribution of your property, who’s going to get what property, how is it going to be divided?

We also will take care of any parenting plans, custody, visitation, spousal support issues, child support issues and so forth.

Everything is included in the final agreement for your divorce. Keep in mind that we are in Santa Clarita but we are serving all of Los Angeles County. We do have a courier service that files our documents for us so you don’t have to worry about going to court.

You won’t either have to come to our office. We have a streamlined approach that we can do this either over the phone or through a questionnaire format via email, whichever is more appropriate for you. Whatever is easier for you.

One of the best things about our service aside from us taking care of everything for you is that we are here for you for questions, comments if you have question about the process, or you need help getting through the process, that’s where a lot of our help will be shown.

Make sure to give us a call, I’d be happy to help you with your divorce here in California. 661-281-0266 or again just jump over to our website at divorce661.com for more information.

Divorce Paralegal Service In West Los Angeles, CA

Posted by Tim Blankenship on

Divorce Paralegal Service In West Los Angeles, CA

Today we’re talking to the folks in West Los Angeles who are considering going to a divorce and perhaps looking for more affordable approach than hiring an attorney for your divorce.

I wanted to talk to you about our service, what we do and what we charge and see if maybe we would be a better alternative for you for your divorce.

We are a full service divorce paralegal form. We do work all throughout California and we are located in Los Angeles County.

Now, we are full service. That means that we are going to fill out all your forms, we’re going to go down the court for you, we’re going to file your forms, we’re going to serve them, we’re going to do all the financial disclosures, court processes and procedure.

You’re not going to have to worry about that or go down to court at all, assuming everything is an agreement and we’re also going to help you prepare your judgment.

Your judgment includes everything from distribution of property, essentially who’s going to get what and how is it going to be divided.

We’ll help you with custody and visitation plans, parenting plan, child support, spousal support or anything that’s involved with separating, going your separate ways.

Essentially we do everything that a law firm would do for you except for give you legal advice and represent you in court. So the idea here is working somewhat amicably towards a cooperative divorce solution and you can rely on us obviously to complete the paperwork.

But not only that, to help you and to be there for you if you have questions about how to divide up your property or what kind of parenting plan can you come up with things like that. We can certainly help you with that as well.

So please give us a call, I’d be happy to talk to you and give you a free consultation over the phone and let you know what we can do for you.

We’ll talk about your specific circumstances and kind of run you through the process specific to your concerns and then make sure you’re a good fit with our company.

And then if everything works out, we’d be happy to help you process your divorce.

Tim Blankenship, divorce661.com. we’ll talk to you soon.

Divorce Paralegal Service In Montrose California

Posted by Tim Blankenship on

Divorce Paralegal Service In Montrose California

Today we are talking to our folks or friends in Montrose, California. I want to let you know a little bit about our service and how we can help you with your divorce in Montrose, California.

We are licensed and bonded legal document preparation firm, essentially a paralegal firm who can help you with your divorce.

Now, we are full service, so that means we are going to take care of everything for you. No questionnaires, we’re not going to send you down to court, none of that.

We’re going to take care of your divorce from start to finish, very much like a law firm would where we’re going to take full action for you. You’re not going to have to do a thing except to provide documentation that we need.

Our service includes going down to court for you and filing them, serving them, doing all your financial disclosures and all the processes and procedures that are required by the court so you don’t have to worry about what to fill out and what comes next or now what do I do.

We also will complete your final judgment who will determine who gets what property, what the parenting plan is going to be, custody, visitation, and we’ll also help you with determination of child support and spousal support.

We have all the software that the courts have and attorneys have so we can certainly help you with that. We do work off a fix fee pricing. You can go to our website at divorce661.com and you’ll be able to determine exactly what your costs are.

We really have become the go-to-firm in California for divorce because that is our specialty. We are doing it for a long time and we have a background having work with the courts and working with family law firm before opening this business, so we have a lot of experience.

Aside from filling out the forms and getting you through the process is probably one of the real value is because we have that background with the courts and law firms and I’ve been doing this for a couple of years now.

We’ve seen a lot of things, we can help you through the process from an experience stand point as supposed to just processing paperwork for you.

So a huge value there which comes along with the services obviously and asking questions what about this, what about that. That’s really what we’re here for.

Tim Blankenship, divorce661.com. Make sure to give me a call when you need help with your divorce in California.

Divorce Paralegal Service In La Crecenta California

Posted by Tim Blankenship on

Divorce Paralegal Service In La Crecenta California

We are talking to our friends in La Crecenta, California today. I wanted to tell you a little bit about our divorce service and what we can do for you.

We are a licensed and bonded legal document preparation firm specializing in divorce that is all we do is divorce. We’ve been doing this for several years.

I want to tell you a little bit about our background as well.

Started first working with the superior court in Los Angeles County for several years. Moving on to working for a family law firm for several years and now we run this business, running this business now for several years.

So, we have a lot of understanding, we’ve seen divorce from many angles from the courts, form a law firm perspective and now representing the clients. We have lots of experience that can get you through your divorce for low flat fee so you don’t need to go out and spend your money on an attorney.

Now, I want to talk to you about our full service capabilities.

Being a full service means, we are going to fill out all your forms for you, we’re going to go down the court, we’re going to file them, we’re going to serve them, follow all the court’s processes and procedures so you don’t have to worry about what comes next or now what do I do, how do I fill out forms, we take care all of that for you.

We’ll even complete your final agreement or judgment which will include the distribution of assets and debts, who’s going to get what stuff essentially, parenting plan, custody, visitation, spousal support determination as well as child support determination.

We can do essentially everything a law firm or an attorney can do for you. We have all the court’s software, we just can’t give you legal advice and we can’t represent you in court. But if that’s the case, you’ll probably need an attorney, anyways if you need one of those two things.

We work with people that mostly are going through amicable type of cases or at the very least are trying to work through their issues without hiring attorneys to do that work for them.

So, if you’re not sure if we would be a good fit for you, go ahead and give me a call. I’d be happy to discuss your specific case and see if we are a good fit for you, but I can tell you this, there’s a 90% chance that you are a good fit for us because that’s the percentage of divorce filings. They go through the process without an attorney.

Very few divorce cases actually need an attorney, who are going to go to court and who are going to go to trial. So just keep that in mind.

Feel free to call us at 661-281-0266 or go to divorce661.com for more information. We’d be happy to help you with your divorce in California. Talk to you soon.