Filing Request To Enter Default In CA Divorce When Spouses Live Together

Today we came across something interesting. We had a client who gives us a call.

They were attempting to do their own divorce and they’re having trouble all along the way but specifically in the area of trying to file their request to enter default.

And when they came to us they had had the default rejected and it was for a reason that we hadn’t seen before.

We’ve never had this problem and I don’t know if it’s because we are filing paperwork for folks in a professional manner and the courts know who we are or because these person are representing themselves.

But this is what it was in regards to.

So the default was rejected, she had filed the request to enter default and it was rejected and the rejection letter from the court said, “If petitioner and respondent reside at the same address or the address of the respondent on the default request is different with the address on the proof of service, petitioner must submit a declaration under penalty of perjury explaining why.”

So what we get out of these is if you file for divorce and you’re still living with your spouse and you use that same address on the petition for you and your spouse.

They basically want to know why you are filing for a default if your spouse is there in the same household. Why wouldn’t they respond, why wouldn’t she do a hybrid or a default with agreement.

I guess it’s an interesting topic because we’ve filed many cases where the husband and wife live together throughout the divorce for financial reasons. Only deciding to separate once the divorce is actually finalized.

We haven’t ever run across this, I don’t know if this is a new rule of doing so but it appears now that if you’re using the same address for both petitioner and respondent and you’re filing a default case. You need to provide a written declaration of why this is the case.

And I would assume the answer would be, we’re still living together for financial reasons and petitioner and respondent still residing together and we’re filing a default because we don’t want to pay for the other filing fee. Or we’re filing a default because we’re in agreement so there’s no reason to respond.

Those would probably be some acceptable reasons for your written declaration. So, it’s not a big deal.

What they’re trying to avoid, I gather, is having someone file, saying they were served and then defaulting and the person actually not knowing that the divorce was ever finalized.

I think that’s what the courts are trying to prevent happen. Kind of like a fraudulent divorce where people finalize the divorce and the other person never even knew the divorce was happening. That’s what I get out of this particular rejection letter.

So, I’m going to talk about this a little bit more in future videos but this was something new that came up that we hadn’t seen.

So if you are representing yourself, keep in mind if you use the same address, it appears now that you need a declaration explaining why you’re filing a default when you live with the same location and your spouse should be available to respond or enter into a written agreement with you.

Tim Blankenship, divorce661.com, we handle divorce cases all throughout California. Please give us a call at 661-281-0266. I’d be happy to give you a free consultation over the phone.