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Responding to a petition for divorce in California

by Stan Burman

Responding to a petition for divorce in California is the topic of this blog post.

Responding to a petition for divorce in California requires that the responding party, known as the Respondent, file and serve a formal response which must be done using Judicial Council Form FL-120 Response-Marriage (response) which is a mandatory form.

If there are minor children under the age of 18 years old of the marriage or relationship involved a Declaration under Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act (declaration) Judicial Council Form FL-105 must be used as this is also a mandatory form.

Responding to a petition for divorce in California should be done in any situation in which both parties have not already reached an amicable divorce settlement.

Filing the response avoids any default being entered against the responding party and will ensure that they are on equal legal footing with the petitioner. I want to stress that filing a response does not prevent the two parties from reaching an amicable settlement.  All it does is protect the interests of the responding party.

The Court will charge a filing fee when the response is filed unless the responding party can qualify for a fee waiver.  As of December 2016 that filing fee is $435.00 in most counties.  The responding party should call or visit the website for their local Court to verify the correct filing fee for their particular county.

In most cases the original response, and declaration if there are minor children, must be filed with the Court within thirty (30) calendar days from the date that the respondent is served.  A copy of the response, and declaration if needed, must be served by mail on the petitioner, or their attorney if they have one, and a proof of service must be filed along with the original response, and declaration.

The appropriate boxes must be checked on the response. As each case is different, the party responding should take care to ensure that the response is filled out correctly. The declaration must also be correctly filled out.

If the responding party anticipates that the reaching of an amicable settlement is not feasible at the time that they file their response, it may make sense to consider propounding discovery to the petitioner. Discovery can be very helpful to each party in evaluating the strengths and weaknesses of their case, facilitating a possible settlement, and in preparing for trial.

Parties in California divorce proceedings can utilize the same discovery procedures as are used in California civil litigation as the same rules and procedures are applicable unless another statute or rule has been adopted by the California Judicial Council. See Family Code § 210.

In my personal opinion based on having worked on hundreds of divorce cases in California both contested and uncontested, at least basic discovery requests such as the Form Interrogatories-Family Law should be utilized and served concurrently with the response even in a simple case as they are relatively easy and can be completed fairly quickly. Proper use of the Form Interrogatories is an easy and quick way to obtain the most information with a minimum of effort.

The requests for production and inspection of documents and other tangible things can be useful in obtaining bank and financial records and other documents that are pertinent to the issues involved in the divorce proceeding.

And last, but certainly not least, requests for admission can be used to request the other party to admit or deny certain pertinent facts, and/or admit that certain attached documents are genuine.

In a more complex case involving a long term marriage (over 10 years), minor children, and numerous community property assets and obligations, all of the discovery requests mentioned in this blog post should be at least considered, if not actually used.

The most important thing to keep in mind is the fact that a party served with a petition for divorce should file a timely response to a petition for divorce in California or they risk a default being entered against them. As previously mentioned, the filing of a timely response will protect the interests of the responding party. And it does not prevent the two parties from reaching an amicable settlement.

Attorneys or parties in California that would like more information on a California divorce litigation document package containing over 45 sample documents can use the link shown below.

https://legaldocspro.myshopify.com/products/california-divorce-document-collection

The author of this blog post, Stan Burman, is a freelance paralegal who has worked in California and Federal litigation since 1995 and has created over 300 sample legal documents for sale.

For licensed attorneys and law firms that need assistance with any California or Federal litigation matters, Mr.  Burman is available on a freelance basis. Mr. Burman may be contacted by e-mail at DivParalgl@yahoo.com for more information. He accepts payments through PayPal which means that you can pay using most credit or debit cards.

To view over 300 sample legal documents for sale visit: www.scribd.com/LegalDocsPro

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DISCLAIMER:

Please note that the author of this blog post, Stan Burman is NOT an attorney and as such is unable to provide any specific legal advice. The author is NOT engaged in providing any legal, financial, or other professional services, and any information contained in this blog post is NOT intended to constitute legal advice.

The materials and information contained in this blog post have been prepared by Stan Burman for informational purposes only and are not legal advice. Transmission of the information contained in this blog post is not intended to create, and receipt does not constitute, any business relationship between the author and any readers. Readers should not act upon this information without seeking professional counsel.




 

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