How to Finalize a Divorce in San Bernardino County in 6 Weeks | San Bernardino Divorce

Posted by Tim Blankenship on

 

How to Finalize a Divorce in San Bernardino County in 6 Weeks

I’m Tim Blankenship with Divorce661. In this post I’ll walk you through how you can complete your San Bernardino County divorce paperwork and get court approval as quickly as the law allows — often in as little as six weeks. California law includes a mandatory six-month waiting period, but that doesn’t mean you must wait six months to finish everything. Here’s a clear, step-by-step guide to moving your divorce forward fast and efficiently.

How California’s 6-Month Rule Actually Works

California requires a minimum six-month waiting period from the date your spouse is properly served before a divorce can be finalized. That six months is a hard statutory timeline — the divorce won’t officially become final until then. However, the statute does not prevent you from completing and submitting all necessary paperwork well before that date.

The critical point is this: once the petition is filed and your spouse is properly served, the six-month clock starts. But during that countdown you can do everything else — disclosures, negotiation, and filing the final judgment package — so the court can review and approve your agreement long before the six months expire.

Step-by-Step: How to Get Court Approval Fast

  1. File the petition: Start the process by filing the divorce petition with the court.
  2. Serve your spouse: Ensure your spouse is properly served. The six-month waiting period begins on the date of service.
  3. Complete financial disclosures: Exchange required financial documents (income, assets, debts). Full, accurate disclosures are essential to avoid delays.
  4. Draft and sign a marital settlement agreement: Reach agreement on property division, debts, support, and other issues, then sign the marital settlement agreement.
  5. Prepare and submit the final judgment package: Assemble the judgment packet, including the signed agreement and required court forms, and submit it to the court for approval.
  6. Court review: If everything is complete and both parties are in agreement, the court will review and often approve the paperwork within a few weeks.

Real Client Example

“We recently helped a San Bernardino couple file, complete disclosures, and submit their judgment package, all in under 30 days. The court approved their paperwork in week six. Now they just wait for the six-month date for the divorce to finalize automatically. No further action needed.”

This example shows how quickly the administrative portion of a divorce can move when both parties are cooperative and the paperwork is complete and accurate. After court approval, the case simply sits until the six-month statutory date, at which time the divorce becomes final without additional filings.

What We Handle at Divorce661

  • Fast, flat-fee divorce services designed for amicable cases
  • 100% remote handling through the court’s eFile system
  • Filing the petition and other court forms
  • Service coordination
  • Preparing and exchanging financial disclosures
  • Drafting marital settlement agreements
  • Preparing and submitting the final judgment package

Typical Timeline — From Filing to Court Approval

If everything is in agreement and properly completed, here’s a realistic timeline you can expect:

  • Days 0–7: File petition and arrange service
  • Days 7–30: Exchange disclosures, negotiate and sign settlement agreement
  • Days 20–40: Prepare and submit judgment package to court (via eFile)
  • Weeks 4–6: Court reviews and often approves the paperwork
  • Six months from service date: Divorce automatically finalizes

Key Things to Know

  • Service matters: The six-month clock starts only after proper service — make sure service is done correctly and documented.
  • Complete disclosures: Full and accurate financial disclosures reduce the chance of the court asking for more information or rejecting papers.
  • Agreement speeds things up: If both parties agree on terms, courts are typically able to approve the judgment packet quickly.
  • Approval ≠ finality: Court approval of your agreement does not bypass the statutory six-month waiting period — it only means the paperwork is ready to become final when the date arrives.

Is This Right for You?

Fast timelines work best for amicable divorces where both parties are willing to cooperate and exchange required information. If your case involves complex property disputes, contested issues, or disagreements over disclosures, the process will likely take longer.

Conclusion — Move Forward, Faster

You don’t have to wait passively for six months to end your marriage in California. By organizing paperwork, completing disclosures, and submitting a polished final judgment package, you can obtain court approval well before the statutory finalization date — often within six weeks. At Divorce661 we specialize in doing exactly that: fast, flat-fee, court-friendly divorces handled remotely through eFile so you can move on with your life without unnecessary delay.

Interested in a free consultation? Visit divorce661.com to schedule a call and learn how we can help finalize your San Bernardino divorce as quickly as the law allows.

What to Do If Your Divorce Papers Are Rejected in San Bernardino County | San Bernardino Divorce

Posted by Tim Blankenship on

 

What to Do If Your Divorce Papers Are Rejected in San Bernardino County

I’m Tim Blankenship with Divorce661. If your divorce paperwork was rejected by the San Bernardino County court, take a deep breath — you’re not alone. In my original video and in this article I explain why rejections happen, what to check, and how to get your judgment approved quickly and correctly.

Why divorce paperwork gets rejected in San Bernardino County

Court clerks follow strict formatting and procedural standards. Even small mistakes can result in your judgment package being returned without approval. Common reasons I see include:

  • Missing required forms or attachments
  • Incomplete disclosures (financial statements, property disclosures)
  • Incorrect or non‑standard legal language in property division or judgment text
  • Forgotten checkboxes, initials, or signatures
  • Formatting or filing errors that don’t match court rules

“Don’t panic. You’re not alone.”

A real client example: from two rejections to approval

One San Bernardino client came to us after their divorce judgment had been rejected twice. The rejections were caused by incomplete disclosures and incorrect property division language. They were frustrated and didn’t know what to fix.

We reviewed the entire file, corrected the disclosures, revised the property division language to match court expectations, prepared a new judgment package, and resubmitted. The result: the judgment was approved within a few weeks.

Step-by-step: What to do if your paperwork is rejected

Follow these practical steps to move forward quickly and avoid additional delays:

  1. Don’t panic — a rejection is common and usually fixable.
  2. Carefully read the court clerk’s rejection notice to identify the specific issues.
  3. Perform a full file review: check every form, signature, disclosure, and attachment.
  4. Correct the specific errors (missing forms, incomplete disclosures, incorrect wording).
  5. Prepare a new, complete judgment package that follows the court’s formatting and language standards.
  6. Resubmit the package and follow up with the court if necessary.

When to get help

If the rejection notice is unclear or you don’t know how to fix legal language and disclosure defects, working with someone who knows San Bernardino procedures will save you time, money, and stress. Specialists can take over the file, correct the errors, and resubmit so you don’t have to deal with the court alone.

Practical checklist before you resubmit

Before filing again, make sure you check every item below:

  • All required forms are included and completed
  • Financial disclosures and property declarations are accurate and signed
  • Judgment language clearly and correctly divides property and debts
  • All checkboxes, initials, and signatures are present where required
  • Formatting (margins, font, page numbering) meets court requirements
  • Proof of service and any notices are attached

How Divorce661 can help

At Divorce661 we specialize in taking over cases that have stalled because of rejected paperwork. We will:

  • Review your entire file to find every deficiency
  • Fix incomplete disclosures and correct legal language
  • Prepare a new, court‑ready judgment package
  • Resubmit documents and follow up until approval

We offer flat‑fee pricing (no hourly attorney costs) and a free consultation to review your situation. If you want help getting your San Bernardino divorce paperwork approved the right way, visit divorce661.com to schedule your free consultation.

Conclusion

A rejected divorce filing is frustrating, but it doesn’t have to derail your case. Most rejections are caused by fixable errors — missing forms, incomplete disclosures, or incorrect judgment language. Take the time to do a thorough review or get help from a specialist who knows San Bernardino’s requirements, and you can get your case back on track quickly and with far less stress.

Signing & Notarizing Your California Divorce Paperwork

Posted by Tim Blankenship on

Signing & Notarizing Your California Divorce Paperwork

The divorce courts throughout California generally have different rules in regards to signing paperwork. These different rules can be so varied that sometimes we have to make recommendations in a blanket statement to make sure folks have the best chance of having the divorce case approved.

This transcription and video discusses what we recommend as far as signing your divorce judgment.

Hi, Tim Blankenship here with divorce661.com and this is just a quick video. I want to talk to you about whether or not you need to notarize your divorce judgment paper work when you turn it in, so just as a blanket statement what I’m going to tell you is yes.

What I’ve done as a practice probably in the last year is just advised all of my clients regardless of the circumstances rather, is just across the board both the parties, petitioner and respondent, should always have their final signature page notarized.

When we prepare a judgment, we will prepare a page that just has a signature line for the petitioner, the respondent and the judge, we also have a notary acknowledge at the bottom so you can take it and have it notarized simply.

The reason we’re recommending that you across the board regardless of the circumstance is that both parties get it notarized, is we’re starting to see a trend and this started about a year, a year and a half ago where a clerk here and there around you know throughout California is requesting it, even though it wasn’t normally the case.

So, let me give you some scenarios, if you had an uncontested divorce where the petitioner filed the petition, the respondent filed the response and that’s what you consider an uncontested case then you didn’t need to have your signature notarized and that’s because they know that both parties are involved.

The reason the notary is there is of course to make sure that it’s actually the signature of the parties and when the no response is filed, in the case of a default or a hybrid where we have a default with agreement, that again is a time when you would need to have your signature notarized, the respondent.

Then what started happening is on long term marriages where we are terminating spouse support, so I don’t want to get too much into the weeds on this but in a long term marriage the general rule is California law states that there is reserved jurisdiction over the issue of spouse support indefinitely however, many clients want to terminate that jurisdiction so there is waiver language to do so.

Then what happened because spouses were giving up their rights to spouse support on long term marriages and wanted to waive it, the courts wanted to verify and by doing so asking that even on uncontested cases that the parties have their signatures notarized.

So, it’s just easier across the board everyone get your signature notarized, both petitioner and respondent on every case whether it be default, hybrid or an uncontested. Tim Blankenship, divorce661.com hope this video was helpful, call me if you need any help with your divorce anywhere in California.

You can schedule a consultation with me right off of our website, you can go to divorce661.com look for the blue button that says schedule a call with Tim and you’ll have access to my calendar and we’ll get you setup, talk to you on the phone and see if we can help you out 661 281 0266 and also at divorce661.com.

Thanks so much for watching, take care.

Problems With Listing Pension Wrong On Divorce Judgment : Valencia Divorce

Posted by Tim Blankenship on

Listing your pension information wrong or listing how the pension is going to be divided wrong during your divorce or on your divorce papers can cause many problems down the road.

There are lot of people out there that try to do their own Valencia divorce. The problem is that you don’t know what you don’t know. What I mean to say is that you don’t know you are doing things wrong until it becomes a problem.

The good news is that it can be fixed. We can fix issues with your pension being listed wrong on your California divorce judgment. It is called a Stipulation & Order and we can prepare and file a Stipulation and Order to correct a previously filed judgment in your divorce case.

Learn more about our Stipulation & Order Services by Clicking Here

In this video we discuss the issues with listing your pension in your judgment and doing it wrong and the problems this can cause down the road.

 

What we recommend, of course, is not to do your own divorce in the first place and to hire a professional company so that your Valencia divorce is done correctly the first time.

We offer a full service and do it yourself divorce process. We figure that there is just that percentage of the population that wants to file their own divorce, usually to save money. Which you can, it just comes at the expense of your time.

So we created a do-it-yourself divorce process as well as our full service divorce.

Divorce661 provides a full service divorce and do-it-yourself service.

Click Here to learn more about our full service divorce

Click here to learn more about our do-it-yourself divorce

And please call us for a free consultation to discuss how we can help you with your divorce anywhere in California.

More California Divorce Cases Being Rejected

Posted by Tim Blankenship on

We are starting to see more divorce cases in California being rejected by the courts. This is especially true in Los Angeles County.

The divorce courts use a checklist of items they can reject your case for and is 3 pages long. We are actually considering preparing a video on each of the reasons your case can be rejected so you can avoid having this happen to you or fix it if it has.

Sometimes the divorce cases are rejected for good cause. Meaning you forgot to include a necessary page or used the wrong language or forgot to check mark a box you were supposed to.

But now, we are seeing more random reasons for rejection. Most recently we had a case rejected and the clerk requested that the papers be collated. Collated? Really?

On another case, the case was rejected because the documents were not in the correct order. You will note that the court does not tell anyone what order the forms should be in. And in fact, the order can vary depending on who is reviewing the judgments.

I have some inside knowledge of how these divorce judgments are reviewed, because i am often the one down at court reviewing them. I have been an intern and volunteer my time at the courts to make sure i am always up to date with any changes.

I can tell you that the issue with collating and putting the judgment in a certain order is something new.

I honestly believe that the courts are so overwhelmed that they are just looking for any reason to reject your judgment. If the judgment is submitted in an unorganized fashion, they will just reject it instead of reorganizing it for you.

We are a licensed and bonded legal document preparation firm that specializes in divorce. We are headquartered in Santa Clarita, CA and serve all the courts in Los Angeles, California.