The Problem with Filing a California Divorce without Legal Help

A prospective client said it well when he emailed us regarding his California divorce:

“I have filed for divorce in person, and have received a case number, and that is pretty much it!  Unfortunately, I have realized that there are a lot of tricky paperwork involved and I don’t have the time, patience or knowledge to do this on my own.  Therefore I need some help.”

This explains very clearly the problem with the ‘process’ of divorce.  Sure, you can file the initial paperwork yourself, but what about the accuracy of the paperwork as well as the rest of the process?  Here’s 5 things to think about:

1. Is the inital paperwork correct?  Without legal advice, it’s hard to know if what is stated is correct or if what you want is appropriate.
2. Do you know how to serve your spouse correctly?  If your spouse is served incorrectly, then the court will reject it and it may not be considered ‘service’.
3. If you have issues such as custody, visitation and support of children or spousal support/division of property, do you know how to get temporary orders while the divorce is in progress?  If you don’t get temporary orders you may risk not seeing your kids or not getting the support you need until the divorce is finalized.
4. Do you know what to do if your spouse responds within the 30 day period?  In most cases when the spouse responds, you are in a contested matter and you need a request for trial setting.  In some cases, the spouse may be willing to agree–an agreement would avoid a court appearance.
5. Do you know what to do if your spouse does not respond within the 30 day period?  In this case ‘default paperwork’ would have to be submitted to the courts in order to finalize the divorce.  Default paperwork that is submitted incorrectly will be rejected.

These are some of the ‘tricky parts’ to a divorce.  Without sound legal advice and oversight, the divorce could be done incorrectly.  Problems with the divorce process can mean time delays, higher costs and may result in a loss of legal rights.

Don’t take unnecessary risks with your California divorce!  Call Legal Action Workshop @ 800-HELP-444 (800-435-7444) for a LOW FLAT FEE divorce, or visit us at www.LegalActionWorkshopLAW.com .