Filing a Summary Divorce in San Diego

Not every divorce needs to be stressful.  One way to reduce the stress of divorce is to file for a Simple Divorce.  Called a Summary Dissolution of Divorce in San Diego. Provided you meet the requirements described below, this can be your easiest way to file a divorce.  You can use a divorce attorney or not for this type of divorce.

Here is a list of the requirements you must meet to be eligible to file for a summary divorce in San Diego;

• Marriage (from the date of marriage to the date of separation) does not exceed 5 years;
• No children born or adopted by the couple and not currently pregnant;
• No shared ownership of land or buildings;
• No shared rental of any land or buildings (except for the current place of living, but must not have a 1-year lease or option to buy);
• Property acquired during marriage does not exceed $47,000;
• Debt acquired during marriage does not exceed $6,000;
• Separate property of neither spouse exceeds $47,000;
• Neither spouse seeks (or will ever seek) spousal support;
• Spouses signed an agreement that divides the couple’s property and debts; and
• At least one of the spouses has been a resident of California for the last 6 months and of the county where a summary divorce is filed for the last 3 months.

Once you verify that you meet all of the requirements above, you will then need to prepare the paperwork, and file it with the appropriate court. You must always check if the court requires any local forms.  This is where hiring a divorce attorney is helpful.  For example, the Superior Court of San Diego County requires filing a Family Law Certificate of Assignment, which verifies you are filing your divorce in the correct courthouse.

Aside from local forms, the documents you need to prepare include:

• Settlement agreement signed by both spouses. See Sample Agreement.
• Filled out Joint Petition for Summary Dissolution
• Filled out Judgment of Dissolution and Notice of Entry of Judgment

You will also have to fill out and exchange with your soon-to-be-ex-spouse financial disclosure documents, which include: Income and Expenses Declaration and either;

• A Declaration of Disclosure;
• And either a  Schedule of Assets and Debts or Property Declaration

OR 

• Three worksheets; Determining Value and Division of Community Property, Determining Value of Separate Property, and Determining Community Obligation and Their Division).

Additionally, you will have to exchange your tax returns for the past 2 years and a statement describing business opportunities, if any, that came up during your marriage but were realized only after the separation date.

Make at least two copies of all forms and documents since the originals will be filed with the court. Bring those copies with you to court and give them to the court clerk. The clerk will file the originals and will stamp “Filed” on the copies and return them to you. There is also a filing fee that you will have to pay.

There are no court hearings for a summary dissolution in California. Once all the forms and papers are filed and the fees are paid, the court will either give you the Judgment of Dissolution that same day or mail the judgment to you at a later date. Either way, it will have a date six months after you first filed for summary dissolution, which will be your divorce date.

Even though it may seem like a daunting amount of work to prepare and file the required forms, this is the shortest route to Summary Divorce.  The amount of time and money you save with Summary Divorce is well worth the work. Hiring a divorce attorney to oversee your case is not required, although it may be in your best interest if you are not comfortable with legal paperwork.

 

Uncontested Divorce Process

If your case is not eligible for a Summary Dissolution of Divorce (for example, you have been married for longer than 5 years or have mutual children), you still have a chance to speed up the divorce process by filing for an “uncontested divorce.” In most cases, uncontested divorces take an average of 6 months to be finalized and potentially save thousands of dollars.

A divorce procedure qualifies as “uncontested” if:

• Your spouse has replied to the summons;
• You have a written agreement (also called “stipulated judgment”) describing how your mutual property and debt will be divided, includes child custody visitation schedule, and lays out support issues.

A couple of important issues to keep in mind regarding the stipulated judgment is that it has to be notarized, and if either spouse receives public assistance and the local child support agency is involved, the child support agency will have to sign off on the agreement.

Additionally, because this agreement is structuring a relationship between you and your future ex-spouse for possibly years to come, it is essential that you understand every clause it contains. Moreover, for some issues, like child support, it has to meet certain legal requirements. Taking your time to thoroughly research and prepare this agreement or hiring a divorce attorney  is highly recommended.

Similar to the requirements for a summary dissolution, at least one of the spouses must have been a resident of California for the last 6 months and of the county where you applied for the last 3 months.

To start the process, the filing spouse (the “petitioner”) must file with the court Divorce Petition, Summons and pay the filing fee (or apply for a fee waiver as described above). California is a no-fault state and do not consider what forced the divorce. Thus, stating reason as “irreconcilable differences” is sufficient.

To formally notify your spouse of the proceedings you must “serve” your future ex-spouse. The service of process must be done properly by a third party. Please note that different rules may apply for serving spouses who are hard to locate, active military members, or in jail. Once served, a Proof of Service of Summons filled out by your server needs to be filed with the court.

If your spouse fails to respond within 30 days, the case will proceed as “a default with agreement” case. If your spouse responds without objecting, the case will proceed as “a standard uncontested case”. Either way, the next step is to fill out and file with the court the Final Forms.

The Final Forms is a set of forms that includes:

• Appearance, Stipulation, and Waivers;
• Declaration of Default or Uncontested Dissolution or Legal Separation; 
• Judgment;
• Notice of Entry of Judgment; 
• The written and notarized agreement; and
• Final Declaration of Disclosure or if it was waived, either by the mutual spousal agreement or court order, then Stipulation and Waiver of Final Declaration of Disclosure.

Additionally, if applicable, there are several more forms that must be prepared if you are asking for court orders regarding child custody, child support, and/or spousal support.

Once the paperwork is completed, the case will be reviewed by a judge. If all papers are in order, the judge will issue a Divorce Decree and the terms of the stipulated agreement will be a part of that Divorce Decree. At least 6 months must lapse from the date your ex-spouse was served with the summons before your divorce case can be finalized.