Request For Order Time Frames For Serving : Valencia Divorce

Posted by Tim Blankenship on

Filing and serving Request For Orders or RFO’s can be confusing.  I have discussed in the past, but since I have just finished up another Request For Order for a client, I thought it was a good time to go over the timeframes for serving them again.

We provide 2 options for preparing your Request For Order:

1. Full Service – We will draft, file and serve your Request For Order

2. Do-it-yourself – We have a online video tutorial with all form and example declarations

The most important thing you have to remember about serving timeframes of Request For Orders is that everything is hinged off of the court date you were given by the court.

I explain the timeframes in this video

 

There are 2 sets of timeframes you can use, whether you are serving it by mail or serving it by personal service. Please note that we are not discussing when you have to serve by personal service or by mail in this article, but to be safe, serve by personal service when in doubt.

Or click here to learn how to serve your Request For Order

Here is the way you figure out the date you have to serve your Request For Order.

Let’s say the court date is on June 30th. Everything will be working backwards of that date, so it will look like this.

17 Court days to serve the Request For Order by personal service
Plus 5 Calendar days if you are serving by mail. Again, there are restrictions on serving by mail so make sure you can serve by mail in your case.

So you will take June 30th and count backwards 17 court days. This means you need to skip over the weekends and any court holidays and make sure you don’t count them. The day you land on, will be the last day to personally serve your Request For Order. If we are using a 2016 calendar, the last day to serve the Request For Order would be June 7th. Again, make sure to check for holidays and to skip the weekends.

Keep in mind that you don’t have to wait until the last minute to serve your Request For Order, you can serve the Request For Order as soon as you have it filed and have a court date. Some people wait until the last minute to serve the Request For Order to be mean and give a shorter period of time for the other party to Respond, but that is up to you.

Make sure that once you serve the Request For Order that you file the proof of service with the court.

At Divorce661, we provide a full service Request For Order solution. We will handle the preparation of the motion, write the declaration, file and get your court date and mediation date as well as have it served on the other party and file the proof of service.

And don’t forget, we  have a do-it-yourself product where we have a video tutorial of how to properly prepare a Request For Order to obtain the best results possible.

Also, if you are looking for help with your divorce, we can help you with your full service approach or you can use our online do-it-yourself divorce service as well.

Santa Clarita Divorce | How To Write A Request For Order

Posted by Tim Blankenship on

First, what is a request for order.  A request for order is the name of a court form that you use when you want to ask the court to make orders, whether it be during your divorce or after it is finished.

I have spoke a lot about these request for orders and we probably handle 10 or so request for orders a month for people who need to get into court for new or modified court orders.

For the purpose of this article, I wanted to address the actual “how to” as far as formatting of your declaration which is the written narrative of what and more importantly, why you are asking for what you want.

I have become very skilled in writing request for orders for people and we have great track record for getting our clients what they want. It is all about how you write it.

My background in writing great declarations for request for orders comes from my almost 15 years as a Police Officer.  When I was a cop I had to write 5 to 10 police reports a day which all have to tell a story and follow certain criteria and most importantly the person I arrested had to be shown to be guilty.  This means we had to prove in the report that the person did all the things it takes to make them guilty of the crime.

Divorce and family law is the same way.  Each law or rule has elements that have to be meet in order for it to work.

Before I get to far into this, I want to advise you on how to structure this and then will give an example from a previous article I wrote so you have a better understanding of what I am talking about.

The first thing you need to do is complete the actual Request For Order Application form FL-300. Think of this as a cover pages (4 pages) which is a court form that has a series of check boxes and places for certain information.

Following the Request For Order Application, you will have to draft a written declaration.  This part is very important because this is your chance to tell the court what and why you want what you want and why the court should agree with you.

So as far as formatting this is what i will tell you. Be clear and concise. And make sure to never put in any drama into the declaration.  Shorter is better and you should include some case law or rules or codes if you have any to support your requests.

I don’t recommend you write your own declarations. I would suggest you hire us to prepare, file and serve your Request For Order and declaration.  The difference between getting what you want and not is in how the declaration is written.

We can help you with your Request for Order and we do a lot of them. Give me a call and we can discuss helping you.

Change Of Venue California Family Law Code Of Civil Procedure 397.5

Posted by Tim Blankenship on

Change Of Venue California Family Law Code Of Civil Procedure 397.5

I am helping a client with their California family law case with a change of venue in Los Angeles Superior Court. Specifically we are talking about a change of venue based upon Family Law Code of Civil Procedure 397.5

Family Law Code of Civil Procedure 397.5 is a pretty specific code section that says;
In any proceeding for dissolution or nullity of marriage or legal separation of the parties under the Family Code, where it appears that both petitioner and respondent have moved from the county rendering the order, the court may, when the ends of justice and the convenience of the parties would be promoted by the change, order that the proceedings be transferred to the county of residence of either party.

This code does not leave much to argue against. It simply says that if both parties have moved from the County that they can make the request under 397.5.

However if you look at the words they chose to use, there is some conditions. First, the language used is “May”.  The Court “May” transfer the if both the petitioner and respondent have moved from the county.

Second, the language says “when the ends of justice and the convenience of the parties would be promoted by the change”.

So here is how I would write the requests for change of venue under 397.5. I would make sure not to take advantage of this section and think it is a done deal just by saying you both live outside the county.  I think you should include things that tell the court how it will be a convenience to the parties involved and to point out how the ends of justice would be met.

For those who are opposing the change of venue under 397.5, i would make sure to point out the opposite, of course, and explain why it is not in the best interest of the parties for the venue to be changed.

Some of these reasons could be that the person changing venue is only a few miles outside of the county and not much closer to the court they are asking it to me changed to.  Another reason would be to say (if it is true) that the only reason the other party is requesting the change is because they don’t like the judge and have been receiving unfavorable results at request for orders.

Again, I am writing an opposition request for order responsive declaration for a hearing coming up in a few weeks. I will write another post which details what the court’s ultimate decision was on this issue.

Already Divorced And Now Need To Modify Judgment

Posted by Tim Blankenship on

When you complete your divorce in California and have your final judgment, there may come a time when you need to make modifications to your judgment.  This may be to modify things such as child support, child custody or spousal support which are the most frequently changed things.

Watch this short video where i explain how to divorce motions after your divorce is finalized.



This can be accomplished by filing a stipulation with the court if the parties agree to the changes.  Otherwise, you need to file a motion with the court (called an RFO) and have it served on your spouse.

When it comes to serving divorce judgment modifications on your spouse after you divorce is finalized, you will usually have to serve it personally on the other party.  When i say you, i mean you have to have someone else personally serve them and have the proof of service filed with the court.

 

Steps To Filing A Divorce Motion | Santa Clarita Divorce

Posted by Tim Blankenship on

We have been completing a lot of divorce motions for people here in Santa Clarita and thought we would talk about the steps for filing a motion in your divorce case in Los Angeles County.

When I say motion, I am referring to a Request For Order which would be used for getting temporary orders for just about anything.  The most common motions during a divorce case is for Spousal Support or Child Support, Child Custody and Visitation.  But an RFO is for any type of temporary order you would like to as the court for.

I say temporary, because any motion you file during your divorce case will result in temporary orders that will be in effect until you submit your judgment or until further order of the court.

Those orders can them be included in the final order or you can change the orders all together, if by agreement.

So I wanted to go over the steps of things you will need to do if you want to file a motion in your divorce case.

First, you will need to complete a RFO (Request for Order) form.  This is form FL-300.  We won’t get into the details of actually filling out the form, rather, I wanted to discuss what is all involved.

If Request For Order Is Involving Children

If your motion has anything to do with children or child support etc., you will need to get a mediation date.  I recommend that you do not attempt to call the court for this. They rarely answer the phone at the courthouse and if you happen to reach someone, they will just tell you to request the mediation date online.

Here is the link to the Los Angeles County  Family Court Service Mediation Appointment Request Form which in another article we will discuss how to fill it out.

You will have to wait until you get your mediation date before you can file your motion.

Another thing you will need to do if your motion has anything to do with children is complete the PACT class which thankfully is now online.  Here is a link to the Our Children First Program online class.

If Request For Order Involves Money

If your request for order has anything to do with money such as child or spousal support, etc. you will also need to fill out an income and Expense Declaration Form FL-150.

If you do not follow these instruction you will have a very difficult time filing your motion.  Meaning it will be rejected by the court in most cases.

Have Us Prepare Your Motion

We specialize in preparing divorce motions for just about anything.  We will prepare everything for you, including your declaration and get your mediation date, file your motion with the court, get your hearing date and serve the papers on the other party.  All for one flat fee.

We are located in Santa Clarita, CA and can help you anywhere in Los Angeles.

During Divorce Spouse Not Obligated To Pay Support Without Order | Lancaster, CA

Posted by Tim Blankenship on

I have a client in Lancaster I am getting ready to help today at 10:00 a.m. and figured it was a good article to discuss, as it comes us quite a bit.

Here is what is going on.

She had discussed filing for divorce with her husband.  They agreed that she would file for divorce and for some reason, the husband ran out and file for divorce first.  I don’t know why, nor did she.  But in case your wondering, there is no advantage of who files for divorce.  It is a no-fault state, and no preference is given to either party.

So her husband filed and them moved out of the house.  He felt it was okay to leave her with all the bills and not give her any support or help pay the bills or to take care of their child.

So she called me and wanted to know what she could do.  Here is what we discussed.

When you are going through a divorce, your spouse is not obligated to pay any spousal support or child support until there is an order from the court.  Now, most people don’t just cut off the other person, and in fact, most simply carry on with paying the bills together until the divorce is finalized.

But sometimes, one of the parties will do this where they are the sole income earner and leave their spouse high and dry.

So what do you do.  In this case, her husband had filed for divorce in the Lancaster, CA courthouse in Antelope Valley.  She needed to file a Response to the divorce, but more importantly, she needed to get some financial assistance from you husband to help pay the bills and for their child.

So what we are doing is both filing a Response to the divorce and filing a Request For Order for Spousal Support and Child Support so we can get a court hearing for the judge to make an order for support.

You see, if you are going through the divorce process and you need to get the other party to do something, you need to file a Request For Order.  These requests for orders will give you temporary orders until the entire divorce case is finalized.  They are not permanent orders.

The benefit to filing a motion like this is that you can get a hearing fairly fast.  Depending on the Court usually around 30 to 60 days.  If you don’t do this, you may be waiting a long time before you are able to finish your divorce case.  The order the court makes will be effective until further order of the Court or until the final judgment is entered in your divorce case.

We are a licensed and bonded legal document preparation firm that specializes in divorce.  We handle all of Los Angeles County Divorce cases and are headquartered in Santa Clarita.  Please give us a call for assistance with your divorce case.  We can help you file a Request For Order, get a court date and get some temporary orders in your divorce.

What Documents Do You Need To File A Motion In California Divorce Case

Posted by Tim Blankenship on

I was working with a client today that wanted us to prepare a motion in his California divorce case.

When we say motion, we are talking about what used to be called an Order to Show Cause or OSC and what is now referred to as a Request for Order or OSC.  All they did was change the name of the form, but the purpose of it is the same.

You would use a Request for Order when you want to set a date for a hearing in your divorce case.  Filing a motion using a Request For Order will get you a hearing faster than if you were to go to trial.  The downside is that the orders that are made at these divorce proceedings leave you with temporary orders.

These temporary orders will be in effect until final judgment in your divorce case.

So lets discuss what forms you need to use to file a Request for Order.

First, you will need the Request for Order, Form FL-300.  You can see that there are several options and check boxes you can use depending on your specific request.  There is also an “Other” box where you can list what it is your are asking the court to make orders on.

Sometimes when you are filing a motion like this with the court, all you need is the FL-300.  If you have a relatively short declaration (your reasoning for the request) you won’t need any additional documents.

However, if you have supporting documentation, you will want to attach that as well.  For instance, if you are making a statement in your declaration and reference something, you should show proof and attach  the document to your motion.

If your request for order in your divorce case has anything to do with money such as child support or spousal support, you will also need to complete an income and expense declaration.

You will file both the motion and the income and expense declaration with the court and both will need to be served on the other party along with the appropriate responsive papers.

We are a licensed and bonded legal document preparation firm that specializes in California divorce.  Please give us a call for more information about our California Divorce services.

Divorce Motions, Response And Reply Tips | Santa Clarita Divorce

Posted by Tim Blankenship on

We talk a lot about how to file motions, request for orders and order to show cause filings quite a bit.  We also, of course, provide this as one of our divorce services here in Santa Clarita.

In this article, and videos below, we are going to talk about the three components of filing these types of motions along with the due dates you have to follow and how to file and serve them.  We will go into great detail about how to file the motion and how to respond to one if a motion has been filed on you.

In this video below we will talk about the due dates and how to file and serve a motion such as a request for order or order to show cause.  The first thing you will do is prepare your motion and then file it with the court.  You have to file it and get a court date before you can serve it.  Here is the rule.  You have to personally serve your motion 16 COURT days before the hearing date.  If you are going to mail it you need to add 5 calendar days.

Watch this quick video where I discuss the procedure of filing and serving a motion as well as the due dates in which to serve them.

Now that you understand the process of filing a motion and the respective due dates for serving it, let’s talk about what you do if you have received a motion and you need to reply to one.

When someone files a motion and serves you, you have an opportunity to file a response.  Your response will be to tell your side of the story and whether your agree, disagree or would like different orders made than requested by the moving party or person who filed the motion.

The responsive declaration also has to be done within a certain period of time just like the original motion.  So for the responsive declaration to a motion you have to file and personally serve 9 COURT days before the hearing.  Why do I keep emphasizing court days?  Because you have to be careful and check for court holidays and skip the weekends.  It could be as much as 15 days before the hearing with court holidays and weekends involved so make sure you check.  I get a lot of people who call me to file a response and it is already too late.

Watch this quick video about filing the responsive declaration.

Now, there is just one last thing to discuss and that is the Reply Declaration.  The Reply is what the person who filed the motion will do.  It is their last chance to get the final say of what their position is in regards to why the judge should make the order that they requested.  The Reply Declaration needs to be filed and served 5 COURT days before the hearing.

Here is a quick video discussing the reply declaration.

So just to recap, you first have the original Motion followed by the Responsive Declaration and then the Reply Declaration.

We can help you prepare and file your motion, responsive declaration and reply declaration in Los Angeles County.  We specialize in divorce and can help you prepare an attorney quality declaration for your divorce case.