How To Divorce When Money Is Tight | Santa Clarita Divorce

Is money tight, but you still need to get divorced?  I have lots of people tell me that money is an issue and they can’t afford to get divorced.  That is why they are calling me to begin with.

I just got off the phone with a lady who said she is not sure if she should hire and attorney for her divorce.  I asked her one question to help her decide.  I asked, “Do you have $10,000 to $15,000 laying around to spend on an attorney”?  Of course she said no, and I believe that most people would say no.  Even if you did, is this what you would want to spend it on?

Money is tight for a lot of people these days, and this is exactly why I started this business of providing affordable divorce services in Santa Clarita.

Look, I worked for a divorce law firm in Santa Clarita.  I can tell you that 90% of the folks that hired a law firm, did so by paying for it with a credit card.  This means that they could not afford it.  If you have to go into debt to get divorced, you are cannot afford it.  All you will be left with is more debt to pay off.

The (not so funny thing) about the cost of hiring an attorney is when people would receive their bills from the attorney office.  The phones would ring off the hook when people found out how much the previous month of attorneys fees cost them.

We would routinely have people call the law firm and say how they can no longer afford to be represented.  The fact is, they never could afford to hire a law firm.  They were just blinded by anger and emotion which drove them to hire an attorney for their divorce.  The bill is what snapped them out of it.

If money is tight and you need to get divorced, give us a call.  We have been providing affordable divorce services in Santa Clarita and helped 1000’s of clients negotiate their divorce without the need of hiring a divorce attorney or going into debt.

Waiting Period For Divorce Now One Full Year? Santa Clarita Divorce

Don’t panic.  At least not yet.  The waiting period for getting divorced in California is still 6 months.  But states such as Washington are working on passing legislation that would increase their current 90 day waiting period, to a full year.

The legislation is known as Senate Bill 5614 and dubbed the “Family Second Chances Act”.

Senator Benton has sponsored the bill and cites several reasons for increasing the waiting period for divorce.  He says that “divorce causes poverty, juvenile delinquency and lower scholastic achievement among children of their state.”

I am all for families staying together, but how much government involvement should there be when it comes to families and divorce.  While I understand the reasoning, I personally don’t think that a State should be able to have this much control.

Perhaps they should take baby steps and move their current 90 day waiting period to 6 months as it is in California.  I have been helping people get divorced in California for quite a while and can tell you that the 6 month waiting period is just about right.

The reason I say this is because even if the time was shorter, it is doubtful that many divorce cases would finish in a shorter amount of time due the the backlog of cases at the courts.  As it stands now, it is taking 3 months just to have your final judgment approved.  This is after you have completed all the other paperwork.

What is your take on how much involvement the Government should have over your decision to get divorced?  Do you think there should be a waiting period at all?

While we are on the topic of the waiting period, I want to clear up a frequently asked question.  Some folks have asked me if they have to wait 6 months before starting their divorce or if they have to file and then wait.  You can start your divorce and even complete all the paperwork and submit it to the court.  The effective date of the divorce will be 6 months after the time you or your spouse was served the initial divorce papers.

Divorce Season Begins After Valentines Day | Santa Clarita Divorce

I was recently meeting with a local divorce mediation company in Santa Clarita and we got to talking about the ebb and flows of the business.  Specifically about when our business may busier and when it may be slower in terms of people filing for divorce.

One thing that was mentioned is that she noticed that it always got busier after Valentines Day.  I thought it was a pretty interesting observation and decided to look into it.

Apparently she was right.  There has been all kinds of discussions about how the divorce rate increases right after Valentines Day.  In fact, some folks referred to Valentines Day as the beginning of “Divorce Season”

There has been all types of reasons given for this so called divorce season being tied to Valentines Day, so I thought I would share them with you.

Folks that have wrote on this topic mostly agree that Valentines Day comes as the holiday seasons have worn off and reality of pushing through another year is underway.  For some it marks the day to follow through with their new years resolution to become single, and for others are just the result of having one more lackluster Valentines Day.

It is almost like Valentines Day is a wake up call to snap people back into reality about the status of their relationship and life in general.

It is reported that there is as much as a 40% spike in divorce filings around Valentines Day.  It makes me wonder how many of these divorce filings really end in the couples finalizing their divorce.  I would tend to think that many of these people that filed may come to their senses later.  But maybe not.

To be honest with you, doing this research about divorce and Valentines Day really got me thinking.  I, for one, am guilty of not being the best at remembering holidays or giving flowers.  Maybe this year I will give flowers and Chocolate.

Regardless of your reasons for deciding to get divorced after Valentines Day, we are here to help you get through your divorce.

We are a full service divorce document preparation service in Santa Clarita and provide an affordable way to complete your divorce.  Please give us a call for more information about our services.

 

 

New Girlfriend Is Motivation For Divorce | Santa Clarita

I can’t tell you how many calls I get from the new girlfriend of a man that is still married.  I don’t mean this in a disrespectful way, but guys, you know, sometimes the women have to keep us in check.

I love when the new girlfriend calls.  They are so motivated to see that their man gets divorced so they can move on with their relationship.

Hey guys ( or gals that never finished your divorce) you’re not alone.  We work with clients that have been separated for up to 20 years.  Some of which don’t even know where the other person lives anymore.

It makes for an interesting process, because of the fact that you have been separated for so long.  Let me explain.

When people get separated, they have already divided all their property long ago.  But what about all the property each of you have accumulated over the period you have been separated?  Well, you still have to declare it, as you are still legally married.

I know, it seems weird that you have to disclose your financials to someone you barely know because you have been separated for 3, 4 or 5 years or more.  A lot of things can happen during that time.  It is almost like you are telling a stranger about your assets and debts.

No doubt, period of long separation make for an awkward feeling when having to disclose how much money you may.

Trust me, you are not the only one who is asking me if this is necessary.  It is, and I understand that it is strange that you have to prepare your financial disclosures when there has been such a long period of separation.

I understand that you don’t want to have to deal with your divorce.  That is why it has been several years and you have still not completed your divorce.

But like I said at the beginning, the new girlfriend is motivation for divorce.  In fact, they are the one’s who normally are calling me to see what it will take to get their man divorced so they can move on with their lives.

We can help you get through your divorce in Santa Clarita.  It does not matter if you have a long term separation or not.

LegalZoom Refers The Most Divorce Clients | Santa Clarita

LegalZoom is a company with millions of dollars in advertising that smaller companies like us could never compete with.  They offer legal forms for just about anything you could think of.

It is true that they provide the forms and will even fill them out for you.  Unfortunately, despite the fact that you paid for the service you received, it leaves a lot to be desired.

I am not saying Legal Zoom provides a bad product.  Are you kidding.  One lawsuit from them would put me out of business.  I am just saying that you will get exactly what you pay for when you use their service.

This is not speculation, rather is what I have experienced by speaking to the many clients that have used their service and now have come to me to clean up the mess.

A recent client used Legal Zoom for their divorce.  They paid their fee, answered the questionnaires they use and then LegalZoom sent them every divorce form known to man to file.  They do provide a lengthy description of the process, but even me, with all my experience with divorce, was like, “WTH – What the hell!”  You know the three letters I wanted to say, right?

So this client thought they were following the directions, filed their forms and their judgment and thought they were done.  Only to learn later that their divorce judgment was rejected.

When they came to our office, I reviewed all the forms that Legal Zoom had completed.  Want to know something?  They were all wrong. 

It is not that Legal Zoom did anything wrong.  No!  They typed in the forms, just like you asked.  But where you did something wrong, they just typed it up anyways without a second thought.

If that is the type of service you want, go right ahead.  Either way, I’m sure our paths will cross when you call us to fix the problems.

When I say LegalZoom refers me a lot of business, I mean that a lot of people come to me for help after using Legal Zooms services.

 

Divorce Without A Lawyer In Santa Clarita

Did you know that you can get divorced without a lawyer?  Most people are aware that divorce lawyers are not a necessary part of getting divorced.

If you are going to get divorced without a lawyer, let us make one recommendation.  Even though you are not going to use a lawyer for your divorce, you should still get the professional assistance and guidance from our divorce legal document preparation firm.

With out service, you can avoid using a lawyer for your divorce and still get attorney-quality divorce documents prepare for you.  When it comes to divorce, there is a lot you need to know and understand about the process and how to fill out the forms.

We have seen too many folks who have attempted to complete their own divorce fail to make it to the end.  Even those that do have the intestinal fortitude to complete it all and submit their judgment to the court, later find that the court rejected their entire case and they had to start over from square one.

Don’t let the fact that you are going to get divorced without a lawyer make you think as though you have to complete the divorce process by yourself. 

I talk to people day in and day out about the process of getting divorced without a divorce lawyer in Santa Clarita. Folks are surprised to find out how well we are able to help them navigate the court system and get through what issues they are having.

Where we do run into issues that may require professional mediation or counselling services, we are happy to refer you to people in that field.  Once those issues are dealt with you simply come right back to us to complete the process.

Whatever steps you take to avoid using an attorney for your divorce will save you time, frustration and ultimately, money.

Divorce without a lawyer in Santa Clarita is possible and thousands of people use our service and get through their divorce.  Give us a call, we would be glad to help you out.