How to Prepare Divorce Documents for San Bernardino County Court | Los Angeles Divorce

Posted by Tim Blankenship on

 

How to Prepare Divorce Documents for San Bernardino County Court

I’m Tim Blankenship of Divorce661. In this guide I’ll walk you through exactly how to prepare divorce paperwork for San Bernardino County so your case isn’t delayed or rejected. I explain the required forms, the mandatory disclosures, how service works, what goes into your judgment package, common mistakes to avoid, and what we do to help clients get their divorces approved quickly.

Overview: The process in a nutshell

Filing for divorce in San Bernardino County follows a predictable sequence. Get these steps right and you avoid the most common cause of delays: court rejections for missing or inconsistent paperwork.

  1. File the initial paperwork (Petition, Summons, and UCCJEA if you have children).
  2. Legally serve your spouse.
  3. Complete and exchange Preliminary Financial Disclosures (mandatory).
  4. Prepare and submit your Judgment package (includes Marital Settlement Agreement if applicable).

Step 1 — Initial filings: Petition, Summons, and UCCJEA

The very first documents are the Petition and Summons. If you and your spouse have children under 18, you must also complete the UCCJEA (Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act) form. These establish the court’s jurisdiction and the basic requests in your case (dissolution, property division, custody, support, etc.).

Important tip: San Bernardino accepts eFile for family law documents, so you often don’t need to visit the courthouse in person. However, the forms must be filled out completely and accurately before you submit.

Step 2 — Service: Getting the papers to your spouse

After filing, your spouse must be legally served with the court papers. Service must follow California rules (personal service by a non-party over age 18, or a court-approved method such as substituted service or service by mail when appropriate). The court will not proceed until service is complete and proof of service is filed.

Step 3 — Preliminary Financial Disclosures (mandatory)

San Bernardino courts require both parties to exchange preliminary financial disclosures before the court will review or finalize resolutions. These are not optional.

The required disclosures include:

  • Schedule of Assets and Debts (FL-142): A full accounting of community and separate property, liabilities, retirement accounts, real estate, and other assets.
  • Income and Expense Declaration (FL-150): Monthly income, deductions, and expenses used to calculate temporary support or to inform negotiations.

Complete these forms carefully. Omissions, wrong numbers, or inconsistencies between forms are the most frequent reasons for court rejections later on.

Step 4 — The Judgment package: what the court expects

The last major step is preparing your judgment package for submission once the parties have reached agreement or completed required processes. This package typically includes:

  • Marital Settlement Agreement (if you have one)
  • Final Judgment forms
  • All required attachments and disclosures
  • Any custody agreements or child support worksheets

San Bernardino courts are strict about completeness and internal consistency. If numbers, names, or dates don’t match across forms, the court will reject the package and send it back for corrections.

San Bernardino courts are strict. If anything is missing or filled out incorrectly, your case will be rejected.

Common mistakes that lead to rejection (and how to avoid them)

  • Inconsistent financial numbers across the Income and Expense Declaration, Schedule of Assets and Debts, and settlement agreement — cross-check all figures.
  • Missing signatures or notary where required — always sign and date every form that requests it.
  • Using the wrong county-specific forms or outdated versions — always download the current forms and local mandatory attachments for San Bernardino County.
  • Leaving blanks instead of writing “N/A” or “None” — courts interpret blanks as incomplete.
  • Poorly executed proof of service — follow service rules exactly and file proof promptly.
  • Failing to exchange Preliminary Financial Disclosures before trying to submit the judgment package — disclosures are required prior to court review.

A real example: how careful review speeds approval

We recently helped a San Bernardino couple who prepared their own paperwork and submitted a judgment package that the court rejected due to inconsistencies. We reviewed every form, corrected the discrepancies, completed missing attachments, and refiled everything electronically. Because the revised package was complete and consistent, the court approved their divorce within a few weeks.

Practical checklist before you eFile

  1. Confirm you have the correct, current San Bernardino forms and attachments.
  2. Complete Petition, Summons, and UCCJEA (if kids).
  3. Arrange legal service and prepare proof of service.
  4. Prepare and exchange Schedule of Assets and Debts and Income and Expense Declaration.
  5. Draft Marital Settlement Agreement (if applicable) and assemble the full Judgment package.
  6. Cross-check names, dates, and numbers for consistency across all documents.
  7. Sign and notarize where required, then eFile through the court’s system.

How Divorce661 helps

At Divorce661 we specialize in preparing and filing complete, court-ready divorce paperwork for San Bernardino County. Our service includes:

  • Flat-fee pricing for predictable costs
  • 100% remote service with eFile submission
  • Filing, service coordination, disclosures, and judgment preparation handled start-to-finish
  • Attention to San Bernardino’s strict local requirements to prevent rejections

If you’d like help preparing your divorce documents in San Bernardino County, visit Divorce661.com to schedule a free consultation. We’ll review your situation, prepare the forms correctly the first time, and keep your case moving.

Final thoughts

Filing for divorce can be stressful, but most delays come from paperwork problems that are avoidable. Follow the sequence: file the Petition and Summons (and UCCJEA if needed), serve your spouse correctly, exchange Preliminary Financial Disclosures, and prepare a consistent, complete Judgment package. Cross-check everything before eFiling, and if you’re unsure, get help—fixing mistakes later costs time and money.

For a free consultation and help with San Bernardino County divorce filings, go to Divorce661.com.

 

What Property Do I List On Schedule Of Assets And Debts | Los Angeles Divorce

Posted by Tim Blankenship on

What Property Do I List On Schedule Of Assets And Debts | Los Angeles Divorce

Today I want to talk to you about problems and issues that we’re seeing and questions of people have when it comes to completing the schedule of assets and debts.

The schedule of assets and debts is one of the forms that you’ll be using when completing your preliminary declaration of disclosures. This is a form that will be served along with the income and expense declaration.

The schedule of assets and debts is a list of all property that you have. Its property you had prior to marriage, property you had during marriage and property you have after separation. If you’ve had a long term period of separation, there’s going to be some property that you’ve purchased through her bank account, something like that after separation.

The common issue that we’re seeing is that folks think that when they’re completing their schedule of assets and debts that they’re only to list the property that’s either belongs to them, owned by them or in their name alone, and that’s incorrect.

The property list on the schedule of assets and debts isn’t going to be all property; property before marriage, during marriage and after separation as well as property that belongs to your spouse, property that your spouse had prior to marriage that you’re aware of, property that’s in his name alone.

Even the house, if it’s in your husband’s name alone, let’s say, and it was before marriage, it’s going to be a separate property you still listed.

Not only community property but separate property on the schedule of assets and debts. By listing the property, you’re suggesting that it’s your property.

You’re just list in the property that you’re aware of that was accumulated before the marriage, during the marriage or after separation and all that’s used for down the road is to be a template, if you will, for how that property is going to be distributed.

On the schedule of assets and debts, when you lose property, one thing you can do is indicate if the property is going to be yours or it’s going to be your spouse’s.

If you’re the petitioner, you can simply place a ‘P’ in front of it. If it’s going to go to the respondent, you can simply place an ‘R’.

There’s an area where there’s a date where that property was purchased. And if it’s prior to marriage, just put ‘prior to marriage’ or ‘after marriage’ or ‘during separation’ and I’ll help you determine if it’s going to be a community asset or a separate property set.

I just want to clear that up. I can see that on a daily basis where there’s confusion out of what property is to get listed on there.

Again, my name is Tim Blankenship with divorce661.com. If you have any questions, feel free to give me a call at 661-281-0266. We’re a low cost, affordable document preparation firm that specialized in divorce in Los Angeles County.