California Divorce Legal Questions

Yes, you can file a request for order seeking to bifurcate the issues you wish to handle on an expedited basis or to terminate your marital status and reserve jurisdiction to handle all other issues.  However, there are also other ways to move your case forward if that's your concern. You should consider meeting with an attorney in person for more assistance.  Best of luck. ... Read More

This is a situation in which you clearly have had a role.  The courts are open to you.  You can pull a copy of your judgment at any time or seek to have it modified.  You could have responded to the initial petition and been a participant in the case.  At any rate, you can move forward now and you will likely need an attorney. Lawyers.com isn't really sufficient to guide you in such a complex proceeding.   You will be very unlikely to recoup any money from the tax returns if they were collected during marriage.  It will be presumed that the funds were spent on community expenses.  You may be able to prove this isn't the case- but without the circumstances I can't give you better guidance.  Regarding the house, I have no idea what you mean that it was sold to a dead person.  Regarding the reservation of jurisdiction, it depends on what issues the court reserved jurisdiction.  I don't have enough information to give you input on this. Again, I would suggest that you meet with an attorney. Best of luck. ... Read More

She didn't handle the service well, to be sure, if for no other reason than the fact that she isn't allowed to sign the proof of service.  She needs to have a third party perform the service.  Even a substituted service.  However, what's the point? She wants a divorce.  The courts won't prevent her from getting one.  The question is, do you want her to go to court and get orders without your knowledge or participation that will impact you? Or do you want to participate? If she takes your default, you could move to have it set aside, but why not just file a response and prevent her from being able to take your default.  If her petition is deficient that is much more likely to harm her than you.  If she proceeds to a default judgment, that judgment could contain orders for child custody, visitation, child support, spousal support, property and retirement division, etc... It is not a good idea for you to refuse to participate just because your wife has been sloppy with initiating the case.   Best of luck to you. ... Read More

Here in California, dissolving a domestic partnership is the same procedure as a divorce.  If its been less than 5 years, you can use the summary dissolution process.  If its been more than 5 years since you entered into the domestic partnership, you'll need to use the regular dissolution process.  Since it's uncontested, it should be easy to complete the process.   Cheryl L. Sommers, Esq. (510) 659-9800... Read More

What do you believe your grounds are for an annulment? California only permits an annulment for a few very specific reasons, such as fraud or incapacity.  If your spouse was UNABLE to consummate the marriage that might work, but physical distance alone is unlikely to be enough. I would suggest that you meet with an attorney in person to discuss your case and determine how best to proceed.  In any case you would be entitled to a divorce and that might be the better option.  Good luck to you. ... Read More

The spousal support payment amount is, for the most part, up to the discretion of the judge, however, there are some guidelines. If you are suffering financially and there is a change of circumstance, you could go back to court and modify the support amount IF the order is modifiable. If it was in an MSA, you will have to check the language. Court orders, on the other hand, are generally modifiable. You can also get a court order that she seek employment which is called a job contact order, and a Gavron warning which puts her on notice that she is expected to get a job and work toward becoming self-supporting. If you already have a Gavron warning and she hasn't sought employment you can ask the court for an imputation of income.... Read More

This could present many legal issues and this is something that you should discuss with an attorney. Expect to spend some time with the attorney if the attorney is actually knowledgeable because the situation raises many complications and concerns. You would probably need about an hour with an attorney, or perhaps a bit longer depending on the facts of your situation.... Read More