If you are in the divorce process in California and representing yourself, you may get a letter that is titled, “Notice Of Status Conference – Family Centered Case Resolution”

This is a hearing that is set by the court and are used for specific purposes.  They are using this procedure in many cases to advise the parties that certain actions must be taken prior to a hearing.

Here is a link with a sample of the Notice of Status Conference.

notice of status conference sample

The first such Notice Of Status Conference you may receive will be one which states that your divorce case is not complete.  You will receive this notice if you have not served your spouse the summons and petition within about 60 days from filing.

If you receive this notice, it will give you specific instruction on what you need to do prior to the hearing date.  In the example above, you would need to serve the summons and petition and complete your Declaration of Disclosure and file the Declaration Regarding Service of Declaration of Disclosure.  Both of these need to be filed with the court.

If you file the proof of service and Declaration of Disclosure, you will not need to go to the court date for the Status Conference.  The clerk will review your file on the date of your status conference and see that the appropriate documents were filed and take the hearing off calendar.

If you won’t be able to have the other party served by the time of the hearing you will most likely want to attend the hearing and advise the court why you have not done so and perhaps what problems you are running into.

The divorce courts have been taking a more proactive approach this year and setting status conferences to keep the cases moving through the court system.

Make sure to read any Notice of Status Conference you receive and make sure you comply with the courts requests.

If you have any questions about what you need to do about a notice you received in the court, please feel free to contact our office.