The California Divorce Process, Step by Step

January 6, 2020January 22, 2020
by Angie

The California divorce process, step by step, includes nine major components:

Preparing paperwork to file
Filing
Serving divorce papers
Responding to the divorce
Temporary orders
Financial disclosures
Discovery
Settlement
Trial

The California Divorce Process, Step by Step

While no two divorces are exactly alike, most California divorces follow the same series of events. Every step requires you, your spouse or your attorney to take different actions, so here’s a closer look at each.

#1. Preparing paperwork to file

For most people, the best choice is to work with a Stockton divorce attorney who can provide legal advice every step of the way. Preparing paperwork to file for divorce can be complicated, and you’ll need to gather up several pieces of documentation. You need:

Birth certificates	Pay stubs	Tax returns	Mortgage statements
Retirement account statements	Credit card bills and statements	Insurance policies and other documents	Other personal or financial documents, which your attorney can explain to you

#2. Filing

When your attorney has completed the summons and petition for your divorce, she’ll file it with the court system. If you have children from your current relationship, she’ll also file a special form that outlines their residences over the past 5 years.

#3. Serving divorce papers

Serving divorce papers simply means that you’re notifying your spouse that you’ve filed for divorce. (If your spouse has already filed, there’s a good chance that you’ve been served with divorce papers.) Your attorney will handle this part for you.

#4. Responding to the divorce

Your spouse will have a chance to respond to the divorce paperwork you filed – or, if your spouse filed, you’ll have a chance to respond. If the person who receives the papers doesn’t respond within 30 days, the divorce can move forward without his or her input.

#5. Temporary orders

Sometimes temporary orders are necessary. They’re orders the judge in your case makes, which are good until the divorce is final; sometimes these orders become permanent. Judges often issue temporary orders for things like:

Child custody
Child support
Spousal support
Exclusive use of property (for your home or other property)
Payment of attorney’s fees

Either party can ask the judge to create a temporary order during the divorce proceedings.

#6. Financial disclosures

You and your spouse are required to disclose your financial situations to the court during the divorce process. Because California is a community property state, and because some property is considered separate property (meaning that it belongs to only one of you), the courts need an accurate picture of your situation. You’ll have to provide documentation to back up your claims, which can include:

W-2s
Check stubs
Bank statements
Federal and state income tax returns
Titles and deeds
Retirement account statements
Credit card statements
Insurance policies

You may need other documentation as well. Your attorney will explain what you need.

#7. Discovery

Discovery is the legal method of getting the information you need from your spouse during the California divorce process. Your attorney will file a formal legal request and may ask your spouse to answer written questions – and your spouse will have to admit or deny the truth of a statement under penalty of perjury. Your attorney may also want to depose your spouse, which means he or she will have to give oral testimony under penalty of perjury.

#8. Settlement

You and your spouse will reach a settlement (you can reach a settlement without Step 7 if you both agree that you’ve provided all the necessary documentation) at some point during your divorce process. The settlement is the result of a give-and-take negotiation where you and your spouse find common ground on things like property division and child custody. Your settlement agreement will also include information on:

Child custody and visitation
Child and spousal support
Property division
How you’ll handle your debts
Your new marital status and, in some cases, a name change for one party

#9. Trial

Not all divorce cases end in a trial. In fact, you only have to go to trial if all your other settlement options have failed. Either you or your spouse can request a trial, but in some cases, the judge will set one even if neither of you asks.

The best way to keep your divorce out of court (other than to get a judge’s signature on your divorce paperwork) is to settle things with your spouse on your own. Trials can be time-consuming and expensive, and if you go to trial, your divorce will take much longer than it would if you settled.

Do You Need to Talk to an Attorney About the California Divorce Process, Step by Step?

We’ve helped many people in Stockton, and we can help you, too. Call us at (209) 546-6246 to set up a consultation to talk about your case and get answers to all your questions, including those about child custody and child support, property division and more.

Divorce

What is Discovery in a Divorce Case?

September 1, 2019June 8, 2020
by Angie

During your divorce case, your attorney will do something called discovery – but what is discovery, and how will it help your case?

Here’s what you need to know.

What is Discovery in a Divorce Case?

Discovery is the phase of divorce where your attorney and your soon-to-be ex-spouse’s attorney gather important information about your situation. It often includes finances, and sometimes it includes things that pertain to child custody and other divorce issues.

During discovery in a divorce case, your lawyer will ask you for all your important documents, such as:

Life insurance policies
Joint bank statements
Joint credit card statements
Investment portfolios
Retirement account information

It’s a good idea to gather these documents as soon as you start divorce proceedings – and make plenty of copies, too, unless you’re storing them all digitally. That way, you have everything you need when your attorney requests it.

Sometimes the discovery process includes subpoenas of documents that you don’t have. Your attorney will file paperwork to formally request the information if it’s necessary for your case to move forward.

Discovery in a divorce case can also include talking to witnesses, taking statements and asking for written answers to questions that pertain to your case.

Witnesses

Sometimes it’s necessary to bring in a third party to testify about your case. When witnesses can change the outcome of your case, your lawyer can subpoena them – and require that they testify in court while they’re under oath.

Taking Statements

Your lawyer can take written or oral statements from you or anyone else connected to your case during discovery. The main purpose of this phase is to gather information that will help your case in court, whether it involves finances or proving irresponsible parenting on your spouse’s part.

Written Answers to Questions

Your attorney can ask another party to submit written answers to questions pertaining to your case.

How Can You Help Your Lawyer During the Discovery Process?

Most people aren’t really aware when their attorney is conducting discovery in a divorce case, and that’s okay. However, you can help your lawyer by providing all the paperwork she needs, and by doing so in a timely manner. If your lawyer needs a joint bank statement, for example, it’s likely because she’s working on something like child support or spousal maintenance – or because she’s helping figure out how to divide your assets so that you get what’s fair from your divorce. The sooner you give your attorney the documents she needs, the sooner she can go through them and start solving the issues you’re facing.

You can also get a head start by gathering all the documents that may be important to your case as soon as you file (or as soon as you find out that your spouse has filed) for divorce. Keep everything in a central location, whether it’s all in one folder on your computer (which you should definitely back up) or in a folder on your dresser. In addition to financial documents, you may need things like:

Emails or text messages from your spouse, or your spouse’s family
Phone records
Birth certificates or paternity documents
Adoption paperwork
Court orders that could have bearing on your case

Your attorney will tell you what else she needs, so don’t stress too much – and if there’s something she needs that you don’t have, she’ll be able to ask your ex’s attorney for it or subpoena the information.

Do You Need to Talk to a Lawyer About Divorce?

If you’re considering divorce, or if your spouse has already filed, we may be able to help you. Call us at (209) 546-6870 . We’ll be happy to answer your questions about child custody, child support, spousal maintenance and other divorce-related issues.

Tag: <span>Discovery</span>

The California Divorce Process, Step by Step

The California Divorce Process, Step by Step

#1. Preparing paperwork to file

#2. Filing

#3. Serving divorce papers

#4. Responding to the divorce

#5. Temporary orders

#6. Financial disclosures

#7. Discovery

#8. Settlement

#9. Trial

Do You Need to Talk to an Attorney About the California Divorce Process, Step by Step?

What is Discovery in a Divorce Case?

What is Discovery in a Divorce Case?

Witnesses

Taking Statements

Written Answers to Questions

How Can You Help Your Lawyer During the Discovery Process?

Do You Need to Talk to a Lawyer About Divorce?