How To Break The News About Divorce – Santa Clarita

Posted by Tim Blankenship on

How To Break The News About Divorce – Santa Clarita

You have made the decision that you want to get divorce. You may have even had casual conversations about it with your spouse. But how and when should you break the news that you have taken the step to file for divorce.

This questions is asked of me on occasion when my clients come into the office to get started with their divorce document preparation.

The first think i tell them is that communication is important. The more you discuss this with your spouse, the easier things will go. Even if it does not feel that way.

The client we got started yesterday, even though they have already talked about divorce and moved into separate homes, was dreading having to tell her husband she filed for divorce. This is totally normal. At least I think so.

Look, you have been married for some time now and there is a history there. Obviously, things did not go as planned, and you need to cut the ties.

When you first approach the idea and discuss things with your spouse it is just small talk. Possibilities, maybe’s, etc. Nothing definite.

But there is something finite about filing the divorce papers. It means you have actually decided to move forward with the divorce and make it official. It is no doubt a big step in your life. One which we understand.

That is why we will never rush you into getting divorced. We sometimes speak to our clients for months before they ever file for divorce. You know when the time is right, we will be here when you need us.

We specialize in providing divorce services in Santa Clarita. Feel free to give us a call so we can help you prepare a plan for breaking the news to your spouse.

 

COC Interns Approved For Santa Clarita Divorce Paralegal Firm

Posted by Tim Blankenship on

COC Interns Approved For Santa Clarita Divorce Paralegal Firm

This week the College of the Canyons Director of the Paralegal Program approved SCV Legal Doc Assist to train and provide their paralegal students with real world paralegal skills.

To be recognized by College of the Canyons as a company worthy of training their paralegals was a real achievement.

Students enrolled in COC’s paralegal program have to complete an internship during their schooling in order to graduate. Internships are generally offered by law firms who supervise and train the interns so when they graduate they have some experience for their resume.

We are a non-lawyer, legal document preparation firm in Santa Clarita. This would be the first time a non-law firm has been approved to provide training and internships to local Santa Clarita residents who are completing the paralegal program at College of the Canyons.

The reason we are excited about this is because not only is this an opportunity to give back to the community by assisting others to gain experience in their new endeavor, but to be recognized as a player in the legal services industry and be trusted by COC to provide their students with training and guidance.

Internships are an interesting animal. Both sides receive some benefit. Our company benefits from having an intern assisting with the day to day tasks and they receive necessary job skills.

While the interns understand that there is no guarantee of a job after completing an internship, we certainly hope to expand and hire the interns we have spent the time training.

 

Communication Is Key During Divorce – Santa Clarita

Posted by Tim Blankenship on

Communication Is Key During Divorce – Santa Clarita

If you thought communication was important during the marriage, it is even more important during divorce.

You decided to get divorced and figured you were done having to speak to your spouse, right? Not so fast. If you want to get through your divorce in an amicable way, you are going to have to communicate with your spouse.

The divorce process is about making decisions about the final terms of your divorce. This obviously is not going to work if you are not talking to each other.

In fact, the answer to not speaking to one another is to hire an attorney so they can do the talking for you. In the end you will have to make all the decisions, but you will just be paying an attorney several hundred dollars an hour to speak on your behalf.

This is obviously not what we are shooting for when working with you to assist you in your divorce.

So when clients ask me if they should speak to their spouse when they are going through divorce, the answer is yes. The more you communicate the less chance you will need an attorney and the less chance you will end up in court.

We can help you get through your divorce and assist you in communicating with your spouse. We will lay out a plan to help pave the way to make it easier to get through the process of getting divorced.

Remember, it may be hard to speak to your spouse, but it will be much worse if you have to hire an attorney and get stuck with a huge bill at the end.

Use A Divorce Service You Trust In Santa Clarita

Posted by Tim Blankenship on

Use A Divorce Service You Trust In Santa Clarita

You shouldn’t take your decision on choosing a divorce document preparation company lightly. You should conduct your due diligence research and make sure the company you use is someone you can trust.

When you go through divorce you have to disclose all your financial assets. That means that the person you have assisting you with your divorce is going to know all about your assets and debts. They will have access to your bank statements, tax returns, pension information and everything else related to your finances.

This should make you take a second to think about who you decide to use to help you with your divorce.

Unfortunately, in this industry, there are lots of folks operating illegal paralegal business’s. These folks are unlicensed and have not met the educational and experience guidelines necessary to obtain a legal document assistant license.

Many people tell me that, prior to hiring our firm, that they found us online. Then they did some research about our firm and read reviews about our company. I recommend that you conduct research on any company that you plan on hiring to help you complete your divorce. Don’t take this decision lightly.

We specialize in divorce and have worked for the courts, law firms and now directly with clients providing affordable divorce service.

It doesn’t cost you any more to work with the best, most trusted divorce service in Santa Clarita.

Legal Separation Or Divorce – Santa Clarita

Posted by Tim Blankenship on

Legal Separation Or Divorce – Santa Clarita

There is a lot of confusion regarding what legal separation really is and what it means.

I get the question about legal separation in two different ways. The first is when folks tell me they want to file for legal separation. After speaking to them, it is determined that what they are trying to achieve is to have separate assets and debts and cut the ties on community property.

The other way I have been asked is when going through the divorce process. I have had clients ask if they are legally separated yet. When someone says they want to be legally separated, they would have to go through the exact same process as divorce.

I think the confusion if over the word “legally”. To be legally separated, you would have to go through a court action to be separated and have a court sign an order that says you are separated. You would follow the same steps of divorce, splitting your assets and debts a developing a custody and visitation schedule for your children.

When you file for divorce, one of the items you will determine is what your date of separation is. The date of separation can be determined a few different ways. It could be the day you moved out, the day you spoke to your spouse about getting divorced or even the day you file for divorce.

The date of separation you decide on will be the date where you no longer have community assets and debts accumulating. This means that as of the date of separation, any assets or debt you obtain are your own.

This is, of course, something you should speak to an attorney about if you and your spouse are contesting anything, because the laws about community and separate property are not absolute.

The date of separation is generally never and issue in the divorce cases we handle and our clients generally agree on the date when they decided to go their separate ways.

Can’t We All Just Get Along – SCV Divorce

Posted by Tim Blankenship on

Can’t We All Just Get Along – SCV Divorce

While most of my clients are going through a mostly amicable divorce, I do get a fair share of folks coming to me because their spouse has hired an attorney.

What is interesting is that I see people hire attorneys that don’t even need them. They get it in their head that they need an attorney and there is nothing that will change their mind.

Today I had someone in my office that was facing that exact situation. Husband hired and attorney and was being fed information from his attorney that was definitely making things worse and not better.

The problem is that the husband was the primary income earner and the wife stayed at home caring for their two children. The husband moved out and left the wife no choice but to move in with her parents with her children. To make matters worse, he does not pay her any child support or spousal support. There is no way she can get a job as her youngest is just 5 months old.

I don’t know what kind of man does this to his own children. Okay, so you and your wife are going through a difficult time, but why make your own kids suffer?

These types of issues are exactly why I stopped working at a divorce law firm in Santa Clarita. Spouses were fighting over everything and the only winners are the attorneys who end up with all your money.

All I could do is provide information about how the process works and what she can expect. We prepared the divorce papers and because her husband would not pay child support, we also filed a motion for child support so she could get some temporary order for support until the divorce was over.

I told her that hopefully he will come to his senses and realize he is going about this all wrong.

How To Finish Your Divorce In A Day Santa Clarita

Posted by Tim Blankenship on

How To Finish Your Divorce In A Day Santa Clarita

I just figured out how to complete a divorce in one day and it was not my idea.

I had a new client call me and advise me that her and her husband had agreed to divorce and they were in a hurry to get it done. They asked if they could come in together and get as much done in a single day.

While we do meet with both husband and wife together on a regular basis, we usually break the divorce process down into a few steps just so folks don’t become overwhelmed by the amount of paperwork.

So instead of simply preparing the initial divorce documents at the first meeting, we were going to prepare a majority of the paperwork in a single meeting.

To do this, I had to give them lots of instructions and send them copies of blank forms so they knew what they would have to bring in when we met.

This couple had already filed for divorce, so there was no need to wait for the case to be filed. If you have not filed yet, this can be done prior to our first meeting and I can serve your spouse the day we meet.

So there we all were for a few hours powering through all the financial disclosures, making copies of documents and signing everything. I was able to personally serve both of them and get all their agreement on paper.

All that was left to do is file the documents with the court and prepare the final judgment paperwork. I would never have someone wait for the final judgment forms as that can take several hours.

This will likely be the only time these clients have to come to my office. As soon as I prepare the judgment, all they need to do is review it and sign it. Then it can be filed with the court so we can conclude their divorce.

If you are interested in getting your divorce done quickly, please give us a call. We can discuss a plan so we can finish your divorce in a day.

Motion To Set Aside Default During Divorce – Santa Clarita

Posted by Tim Blankenship on

Motion To Set Aside Default During Divorce – Santa Clarita

Even though you are going through a divorce, it is still a “lawsuit” as mentioned on the divorce Summons.  So this means there are specific steps that have to be taken to protect your interests which fall in line with most other types of lawsuits.

If you want to set aside the default in a California divorce case, it is possible.  You can use our full service divorce and we will file the motion to set aside default and prepare your response or you can use our California divorce online tutorial service where we show you step by step how to file a motion to set aside default during divorce.

Click here to learn more about our online tutorial of how to set aside the default in a divorce case

This includes the process of filing a Response if you want to enter the case.  When you are served divorce papers, it includes a Summons.

The divorce Summons says you are being served then gives specific information about your rights to respond and when you have to do it by.

The Summons indicates that you have 30 days to file a Response, otherwise your spouse could file a default and you would lose your right to be involved in the case and the judge can make orders without you and based entirely upon the requests of the Petitioner.

So what can happen if you don’t respond to the divorce papers?  As the Summons says, if you have not responded within the 30 days, the Petitioner can file a Request To Enter Default.

When the Request To Enter Default has been filed with the Court, it will be up to the judge to grant it.

Once the Request To Enter Default has been entered, you no longer can respond.  The only option at this point is to file a Motion To Set Aside the Default.  This is a motion you would file on a Request For Order and needs to be submitted with specific language stating the reason you did not respond.

You will be issued a court date, have to serve the motion on your spouse and attend a hearing and speak to the judge.  The Judge will decide on whether to grant your request to Set Aside the default.

If the default has not been granted by the court and only submitted, you make be able to simply file a response and be okay.

We can help you file a Motion to Set Aside Default and get you a hearing to speak to the judge so  you can request the default be set aside.  Please give us a call for more information.

Are There Any Flat Fee Divorce Attorneys In Santa Clarita

Posted by Tim Blankenship on

Are There Any Flat Fee Divorce Attorneys In Santa Clarita

As a provider of affordable divorce services, I am always on the prowl for divorce attorneys that provide flat fee attorney representation.

I know there are some out there, but they are few and far between.

The reason I want to know which attorneys are willing to take cases on a flat fee basis, is because sometimes the families I help run into trouble and things spiral out of control and need to hire an attorney.

This does not happen very often and in fact 99% of my clients complete their divorce with me without ever needing to speak to an attorney.

What is the difference between a flat fee attorney and the way they traditionally charge? I will tell you.

The majority of divorce attorneys operate on a retainer and hourly basis. This simply means that you pay a retainer fee upfront before the attorney lifts a finger. In Santa Clarita, this generally runs about $5,000. That retainer is depleted as the attorneys work on your case.

Once the retainer is drained (and it goes fast) you are responsible for all costs over that. Some will start billing you each month and others will ask for you to “refill the tank” and deposit more money. This way they don’t have to worry about you not paying.

Attorneys that operate on a flat fee basis will take your case on for a single fee. They are taking a chance because if the case goes on longer than they expected, they essentially lose money. I have also had attorneys charge a flat fee for a single service and then if things change, they will ask you for more money.

So if you are a flat fee divorce attorney in Santa Clarita, I would be interested in speaking to you so we could see if you would be a good referral source for my clients that need an attorney.

Sure Are A Lot Of Divorce Attorneys In Santa Clarita

Posted by Tim Blankenship on

Sure Are A Lot Of Divorce Attorneys In Santa Clarita

Santa Clarita sure has its fair share of divorce attorneys. I guess it goes with the territory as our city continues to grow.

What is interesting is that all these divorce attorneys are fighting to get a piece of the divorce business in Santa Clarita. There is no shortage of divorcing couples it seems.

The buzz on the street is that divorce attorneys are starting to see a lighter load of new clients these days. They are wondering what might be the cause.

I can think of 2 reasons. Cost and lack of need.

First, lets talk about cost. The cost of hiring a divorce attorneys continue to rise. With average divorce attorneys in Santa Clarita charging around $300 per hour and those that consider themselves top-shelf charging $500 per hour.

Thats a lot of money for anyone. And now that they are seeing less new clients, they have only a few ways of keeping the money coming in the door. Some have resorted to raising their hourly rates so they can make more money off the clients they already have. Ouch!

Now lets talk about the lack of need. Word is starting to spread that you just don’t need an attorney to get divorced. More and more people are taking to using our divorce document preparation service and avoid the high costs of attorney representation.

Why in the world would you hire an attorney at $500 per hour to prepare your divorce documents? Some people do so because they don’t know there are any other options.

We are here to make sure Santa Clarita residents know there is a better and more affordable option to getting divorced.

We do everything form completing your documents, filing them and explaining the divorce process. We prepare your divorce documents exactly as they would be done with that expensive attorney. Give us a call to learn more.