Understanding the Divorce Process: A Step-by-Step Guide

NEED HELP TO FILE A DIVORCE?

Divorce is just a legal word for the end of a marriage. If you have finally made up your mind that divorce is the only way out for you, then you would need to know how to start filing for divorce in California.

As much as it may be a pill to swallow, proper advice and clear understanding of the legal grounds will help you make the right decision.

Legal Grounds of Divorce In California:

California law recognizes two grounds for divorce:

1) Irreconcilable differences have caused the marriage to break down; or

2) Incurable insanity, as set forth in California Family Code Section 2310.

In California most divorces are no-fault. The only other ground for dissolution is the ground of permanent legal incapacity of one spouse to make decisions, which must be proved in court with expert medical or psychiatric testimony.

GUIDE TO THE DIVORCE PROCESS

STEP 1 – HIRING A LAWYER-

The best is to have the attorney specialized in divorce right from the very start. This attorney will help guide one through all proceedings regarding divorce. He will also help you with the paperwork that needs to be filed for this procedure. If required, he will also represent the petitioner in court.

The best divorce attorney can completely change the way your case eventually goes.

STEP 2 – THE DIVORCE PETITION-

Leading up to the final judgment, you are going to have to initiate proceedings with a petition that addresses, among other crucial things, such matters as who is going to get your money and property and who is to get the children.

Under the law of California, the minimum statutory cooling-off time in California is six months from the date of filing of the petition.

The procedure always commences with the filing of a Divorce Petition; that is the initiating document, and one spouse files it with the court. The other spouse, the spouse to whom the petition is given, is an individual known in law as the “respondent”.

As the petitioner, you will be asked to provide information about your marriage date, separation dates, residences, and your anticipated results in the key areas. For the best navigation of this process, an individual may find it advisable to consult a divorce lawyer in California.

You will also need to complete the Summons that outlines the divorce procedure restrains both parties from taking certain financial and property actions and prohibits either party from removing minor children from the state.

STEP 3 – RESPONSE TO THE PETITION-

The law henceforth stipulates that the respondent must file an answer to the court 30 days after the date they serve a copy of the divorce petition. The state of California, through its law, provides for such to be not withstanding that only one of the marriage partners wishes it irrespective of whether the other party wants or desires it.

As such, if a case of divorce is filed by one of the spouses, the other has no option but to follow the legal procedure, because when one of the two spouses files for divorce, the divorce process itself takes care to ensure continuity in the wake of misunderstanding or unwillingness from the other party’s end.

STEP 4 – REQUESTING TEMPORARY CUSTODY OR SUPPORT

You will need to put in the first motion for the process of divorce before you can legally file the request for custody and visitation orders. The issue of custody and visitation, as a general rule, is considered during the divorce.

Because of the long process, getting a divorce usually takes at least half of a year to be completed you may seek temporary orders over the issue of custody and visitation, to help in these arrangements, as you wait for the final judgment of divorce.

STEP 5 – FILL OUT YOUR FINANCIAL DISCLOSURE

Both parties are required to exchange information regarding their respective assets, income, expenses, and debts, both joint and separate, before the divorce can proceed and before any agreement can be reached.

This will be very basic given that the division of property is a rudimentary part of the California divorce process and that an understanding of the full financial condition of each party is both indispensable and mandated by the law.

The paperwork chronicling your finances can be a hassle to fill out. They require rather massive documentation. Other supporting documents required may include, 

– Bank statements

– Credit card statements

– Life insurance policies

– Retirement account statements

– Federal and state income tax returns

– Paycheck stubs

– Mortgage statements

-Real property deeds

– Vehicle titles

Once you have done so, it is required that you ‘serve’ copies of all your documents on your spouse.

You need to exchange your financial disclosures within 60 days of the initial filings: that is to say, the petitioners are due within 60 days of the Petition and same time for the Respondent to respond, and in no event less than 45 days before trial.

STEP 6 – SETTLE THE CASE

Most divorces do settle at the mediation level. Going to trial can be very expensive. A settlement is an overall agreement between you and your spouse that covers all the issues of your divorce: child custody, property division, marital status, etc. Although it may be unlikely that you will agree with your spouse on everything, when you choose to settle, you are still in control of your divorce outcome.

There is no timescale for when a settlement has to be reached; you are free to start negotiating any time you feel in possession of enough information to do so, which may be at any time during the financial disclosure process or discovery.

The provisions of your settlement agreement will form the foundation for the final judgment in your case.

STEP 7 – GO TO TRIAL

If you cannot resolve your issues with your spouse, then your case will go to trial. A trial is rarely, if ever, ordered unless all other means of resolution have been attempted. A trial can be ordered by either spouse or by the judge.

If you go to trial, having a divorce attorney serves as a prime way through which your interests could best be protected. An attorney will help in the preparation, exchange, submission, and filing of all documents that will be required. This includes a summary of the evidence you are going to present, the evidence itself, a list of witnesses, and a case roadmap detailing the whole case. An attorney will, among other things, help in representing and arguing on your behalf in court for the trial process.

It is here that you would want the best divorce attorney beside you to present before and prepare each document, proof, and argument in court. Your attorney will plead for you throughout the trial, representing your interests.

FINAL STEP

The divorce becomes finalized upon receipt of the Notice of Entry of Judgment from the court. Note, however, that even if your divorce gets finalized, it doesn’t mean your divorce process ends here.

You still have to face some challenges like the enforcement of divorce rulings regarding spousal and child support, among many others.

If you have questions regarding either how a divorce works in California or any post-judgment matter, please do not hesitate to contact us.