The divorce process in general can be tumultuous and stressful for all parties involved. Men going through it often have questions stemming anywhere from what attorney they should contact to general procedural protocol.
Luckily, there is a step-by-step guide available to further direct men in California that may have questions or levels of uncertainty. While it lists four crucial parts to the process, it’s important to dissect each one to get a better understanding.
Part 1: Filling Out Forms
While this process can feel overwhelming and tedious, it’s the first step in filing for divorce and bringing your case to the California judicial system. Divorce forms ask for logistical questions such as the names of both you and your spouse, whether you’re looking for a formal divorce or just a separation, etc. Something important to note is that once the forms have been filled out, they must be served to your spouse/partner before proceeding. These forms also cannot be served by you individually, and this is crucial. They must be served by either a friend, family member, or process server.
Part 2: Share Financial Information
It’s important to understand that the financial information is just the disclosures for your spouse and do not need to be filed with the court. The way the process works is that a simple document stating that you shared your financial information with your spouse/partner is submitted to the court. You’re not submitting your actual financial information itself. Something to keep in mind is to be 100% transparent and honest about all your financials with your significant other. If there is any discrepancy or withholding of your finances to your spouse/partner, then the judge could add extra costs regarding your case onto you.
Part 3: Making Decisions
In a perfect world, both you and your spouse can reach an agreement as far as financials, assets, and children’s custody are concerned. However, this is not always the reality. In the case of your spouse/partner not answering your request for divorce, this leads to what’s called a default. A default simply means that you can start your paperwork with the court, if your significant other fails to respond to your divorce request after 30 days.
If your partner does respond, but the two of you cannot reach an agreement in terms of how to divide your shared assets, then you have the right to request that the court decides for you. The court can also implement a temporary order(s) which take care of things that require immediate attention such as child support/care or spousal support if you or your partner need it. Note that these orders are temporary and only remain in place while the case is still pending with the courts.
Part 4: Finalizing the Divorce
After the divorce trial, there are sets of final forms that need to be filled out and submitted for the divorce or separation to be officially recognized in the California state courts. These forms vary from each couple’s specific circumstances (i.e. if children are involved, if there was a default, etc.) Once all of the necessary forms are filled out, copies must be made and given to the judicial clerk responsible for your case, and you are to wait for the judge to sign your judgement.
Final Tips:
Some final things to keep in mind throughout this whole process is to use legal tools to your advantage by seeking the proper legal team to meet your needs.
While this seems like an overwhelming process with a lot of detail, there are trained family law attorneys that are here to help you and make the process as smooth and easy as possible.
If you’d like more information about your specific case or the divorce process in California in general, or if you are in search of a skilled divorce attorney, contact the Men’s Legal Center, located in San Diego, for a free case review.