Why Summary Dissolution Is Not Right For You | California Divorce
Have you heard of a Summary Divorce? It is often touted as an easy way to get divorced if you qualify. It is also referred to as a cheaper way of getting divorced. Neither of these statements are true.
We have covered what the qualifications are to using a summary divorce in other articles. We are not going to cover those again here. What we are going to do is discuss why using a summary dissolution is not right for you, even if you qualify.
First, let’s talk about the paperwork. The divorce forms in a summary dissolution are not any easier for you if you are not familiar with how divorce works in the first place. So if you are thinking about completing your own divorce, it is going to be just as confusing and difficult either way.
The next myth is that the summary dissolution process is less expensive. In fact, the summary divorce is actually twice as expensive! How is this, you say? If you look at a normal divorce petition, there is only one Petitioner. When the Petitioner files for divorce, he or she will pay the filing fee. The filing fee in LA County is $435 and most of California follows suit or is higher.
The summary dissolution is actually called, “Joint Petition For Summary Dissolution”. Joint as in both of you are Petitioner’s. Joint as in both of you are going to pay a filing fee!
Yes, you heard that right. If you file for summary dissolution, both you and your spouse have to pay a filing fee. That just doubled your costs.
With a regular default case or hybrid style divorce, you are going to pay only one filing fee. That is because in a hybrid or default, the other party does not file a response.
Don’t fall prey to being convinced to use a summary dissolution. I got a call yesterday from a client who stated he wanted to file a summary dissolution and had read up on it. He had no idea it was going to cost him twice as much.
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