San Diego Divorce Attorneys

When you are served with Legal Separation papers, you should get legal advice as to what to do. Normally, you would file a response because there are issues that need to be addressed. In the instance that you are served with Legal Separation papers, but you want to Divorce instead, then that would be stated in the Response. In this case, you would now be dealing with Divorce and not Legal Separation. Your attorney can advise you as to your best options.

You do not have to go to court if you and your spouse will agree on your issues. Once agreements are made, the Attorney can prepare a Legal Separation Agreement which outlines in detail the terms of the Legal Separation. Once this document is signed and notarized it is filed with all other necessary documents and finalizes the Legal Separation without a court appearance.

No, you can remain legally separated as long as you do not wish to remarry. You will need to Divorce if you wish to remarry. The advantage of the Legal Separation is that any debt acquired once you are separated would not be considered community debt. In effect, assets and debts will be separate and orders for children will be set in place. If you do decide to Divorce, then the issues will have been settled.

Generally speaking this is not a good idea. People file for Legal Separation for the following reasons: a) when they want to continue being married but separate assets and debts b) some people cannot divorce for religious reasons c) some people feel that it’s difficult to separate the emotional ties so they wish to do a 2-step approach i.e. continue reading...

This would still be a ‘Publication Divorce’ and as such would be done in the same way as any publication divorce. In this case children issues such as custody would be awarded based on the fact that the parent cannot be found. A court appearance would be needed to determine child custody and other appropriate issues.

A Publication Divorce usually takes longer than a typical divorce. A typical divorce can be finalized in a minimum of 6 months & one day from the date of service. A Publication Divorce would usually take longer because of the need to search and publicize. It might take as long as 9 months to finalize.

Should I file a Response when I am served with Divorce papers?

When you are served with Divorce papers, it is a good idea to file a response as this will protect your legal rights. An attorney can explain your options when you are served.

If you are married and you don’t know where your spouse lives, you would need a ‘Publication Divorce’ in order to file for Divorce. The reason for this is because your spouse would need to be served. The courts have provided a way to divorce in this case. Basically, we would do a search for the name of the spouse and then a publication. Once it is publicized for a specified period of time, then the divorce can proceed and is usually finalized when the spouse is not found. If the spouse is found then he/she would be served in the usual way.

A Legal Separation is not needed if you wish to divorce. Some people want to do a Legal Separation because their religion does not allow them to divorce. Others may wish to do a Legal Separation for financial reasons. Whatever the reason for a Legal Separation, it is not a divorce and will not allow you to remarry. Couples can be considered living separately even if a Legal Separation was not filed or completed. This happens when one or both of the parties has no intention to continue the marriage. continue reading...