As a top Los Angeles legal document assistant, I can help with the paperwork needed for your marital dissolution. Send me a contact form today to get started. Uncontested and contested divorces, and summary dissolutions have different requirements. Here’s how you know which one you need
Uncontested Divorces
An uncontested divorce occurs when both parties agree to the dissolution of marriage. It presumes and requires a level of cooperation and, because there are no meaningful disputes, it can typically be completed more quickly and inexpensively. As far as marital dissolutions go, they are relatively easy.
One type of uncontested divorce is a summary dissolution which is the shortest and easiest way to dissolve a marriage. Like all uncontested proceedings, a summary dissolution requires that both spouses agree to and cooperate with the legal proceedings. A summary dissolution is completed with no trial or hearing. But in addition to cooperation, a Joint Petition for Summary Dissolution available to a couple only if they meet certain criteria:
- they have been married for five years or less
- they have no minor children together and neither is pregnant
- their community property, excluding cars, is $53,000 or less
- neither spouse has separate property worth more than $53,000 not including cars
- their community debt is $7,000 or less excluding car loans
- neither spouse will receive spousal support after the dissolution
Uncontested dissolutions typically do not require much deliberation and the terms of the dissolution are agreed upon in a Settlement Agreement which must be approved by the court. Those terms include whether spousal support will be paid, will either parent be required to pay child support, and how will the community assets be divided? In a summary dissolution, the brevity of the marriage and the couple’s limited assets permit a dissolution without having to answer these types of questions.
A contested divorce is just what it sounds like. A dissolution is contested if one spouse does not want the marriage to end or the spouses cannot agree to the terms of the dissolution. If one spouse does not want the marriage to end, they may not respond to a legal petition which may result in a default judgment against their favor. Alternatively, both spouses may want to dissolve the marriage but they disagree on any number of the stipulations of the dissolution. Disputes over child custody, spousal support or property allocation, for example, often lead to disagreement that can’t be resolved as quickly.
Like an uncontested proceeding, a contested dissolution takes at least six months to process in California. However, since they require more deliberation they may drag on for much longer. If contested, a dissolution often necessitates litigation in front of a judge instead of a simple mediator. As a California legal document assistant, I can help with the initial filing and other paperwork, but once it goes before a judge I cannot offer my services in court or as counsel.
In summary, a contested divorce occurs when there is dispute on the terms of dissolution or when one party does want the marriage to end; disagreement over spousal support, asset allocation, the terms of child custody, and more could lead to this situation which entails further deliberation and often litigation. An uncontested dissolution, is much simpler and occurs when both parties agree to the dissolution and its general terms.
To seek the legal termination of your marriage, you must file a Petition which is then served to your spouse with accompanying documents. If you file a petition, you must include a notice of summons, a blank response for the other party to complete, and, if you have children, additional documents. If your spouse is served in person by a process server the Notice of Service must be filed with the Court to start the legal process. If you serve your spouse by mail you must also serve a blank Acknowledgement of Receipt which, when filed with the Court by your spouse, begins the legal process.
A summary dissolution requires very little follow up after the initial filing. In an uncontested divorce, a legal document assistant would work with one or both parties to move the process along and to file the eventual Settlement Agreement. In a contested divorce, a legal document assistant would assist only one party. One or more decisions would have to be decided by the courts.
Get a Contested Divorce, Uncontested Divorce, or Summary Dissolution
If you need help getting started in your dissolution, we can help. Call us today at 562-547-3255 or send us a contact form. We provide a variety of services so that all your legal document needs are covered.