The length of a divorce is different for everyone, and can be difficult to guess. Some divorces can be concluded in 3 months, some take upwards of five years. This is because there are tons of different factors that can influence the length of a divorce. Whether or not you and your spouse are agreed, whether or not you have kids, how many assets you have, all contribute into a divorce’s potential length.Below is an explanation of the divorce process. This should help you understand everything that needs to get done for a divorce to...Continue Reading...
Your spouse cannot legally remarry until a Judgment of Dissolution of Marriage finalizing your divorce is entered in a court of law. However, we sometimes see cases where people choose to remarry anyways. If you think your spouse has remarried before your divorce has finalized, you should investigate into finding a copy of the marriage license. If they have chosen to do this, it means they would be barred from ever receiving maintenance from you. This marriage also would be considered a null marriage that gets completely voided off...Continue Reading...
Spousal Support, commonly referred to as Alimony, is when the court makes an order for one party of a family law case, to pay the other, a monthly dollar amount to help that party support themselves after a separation. While there are many misconceptions out there about spousal support in California, mainly related to gender, the court has a pretty clear process for someone to request the court make an order for spousal support. There are clear and defined aspects the court, specifically the Judge, will consider and weight when they are tasked...Continue Reading...
In California the Probate Courts handle both the process of Guardianship and Conservatorship. The process is essentially pretty similar with one main difference. Both processes at the court entail a Petitioner asking the court to make an order that gives them control of another person. These powers can be for the ability to make decisions for the person alone, of their “estate” (finances, personal and or real property of both persona and the estate. The easiest way to differentiate the two is the age of the person needing to be controlled....Continue Reading...
A joinder is a set of family law documents that are related to property division commonly in divorce or legal separation cases in the Santa Barbara Family Law Courts. The documents more specifically identify pension, retirement and other similar types of accounts that are part of a property division settlement or judgment. These documents are not always required in family law cases, but are common when one or both parties had some form of retirement accounts during the marriage or domestic partnership. The joinder documents can be filed before...Continue Reading...
If you are doing any research you may have already found out that a same sex divorce in Santa Barbara County Family Law Courts is actually just a divorce. In California there is no formal distinction anymore between a divorce between opposite genders and divorce of the same gender. Back when marriage became legal for the same sexes in California, it simply was then legal to handle that divorce within the already established family law court divorce process. The California Divorce Petition, Judicial Counsel form FL-100 actually never asked for gender...Continue Reading...
Many people may wonder what they will have to pay when processing a QDRO in California. Well for those people we have compiled a quick reference guide to outline mandatory and optional costs in the California QDRO process. The good news is that most of the cost are optional, but depending on your comfort level with the legal system it may be a better idea to save time and headache and find legal professionals to help with some or all aspects of a QDRO.Essentially a QDRO is a formal order through a person’s family law case that will direct...Continue Reading...
A lot of people in the US today are opting for legal separation rather than divorce. This is even when they know that their relationship has gone down a sinkhole. But why are so many couples making the choice to live apart rather than get a divorce? What are the reasons for a couple to choose legal separation instead of a divorce?You will find the answers to these questions after understanding the difference between legal separation and divorce mentioned in this article.The Difference between Legal Separation and DivorceLegal separation is different...Continue Reading...
