Are you thinking of getting a divorce in California?

Before you decide to file here are a few things you need to know. To file for a divorce in California one of the two parties has to show proof of residence for at least six months. The filing also needs to be done in the specific county that one of the parties to the divorce lives when the divorce is filed. Also, there are several types of divorce in California. The types of divorce include Dissolution of Marriage, Dissolution of Domestic Partnership and Summary Dissolution. Here, we will focus on the basic the standard and most common Dissolution of Marriage and Summary Dissolution.

Getting a divorce in California requires filing a number of forms with the court. The forms can be filled by you, a legal document assistant or an attorney. In the most common divorce the first step is to fill out Petition for Dissolution of Marriage (form FL-100), Summons (form Fl-110), Family Law Declaration Regarding Related Cases (form L1120) and finally if you have any children you will have to fill out the Declaration Under Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act (form FL-105). The other type of divorce is called a Summary dissolution. If a couple is married less than 5 years, have no children, do not owe much and agree on how they will divide up their assets and debts than they can file for a Summary Dissolution. This distinction is very important to know in order to save you time and money. Most couples disagree on child support and spousal support. If these are some of the issues a couple has when filing for a divorce a legal document assistant and or attorney would be best.

What is spousal support?

Spousal support is when one party during the divorce process seeks monetary support. The court will look at different facts to determine if someone is eligible per Code Section 4320, such as

1) the extent to which the earning capacity of each person is enough to allow the standard of living established during the marriage,

2) how much the supporting party contributed to fulfilling the other party’s education, training, a career position, or a license by the supporting person and

3) if the person who is supporting the other party can pay spousal support, in which, the court will look at the supporting party’s standard of living, income assets and earning capacity,

4) what the need of each party is based on their standard of living,

5) the obligations, assets and separate property,

6) the duration of the marriage,

7) the ability of the supported party to obtain employment without interfering with the dependent child’s custody and

8) what the age and health of each party is.

Regardless of which type of divorce you are seeking and what kind of support requested it is very important to familiarize yourself with the divorce process or seek legal assistance to answer your questions on how to proceed.