Legal Question in Family Law in California
Failure to Respond to Divorce Summons/Petition
My husband is in jail awaiting sentencing. Due to numerous reasons, several months ago I told him I was going to file for divorce. I�m planning to either serve divorce papers on him while he is in jail or once he goes to prison. While he is incarcerated he should be able to respond to my summons and petition within the time limit allowed shouldn�t he? I�ve read this time limit is 30 days, is this true, or is it a longer time period? If he does not respond within the time allowed, I understand the judge will grant a divorce by default. My name, along with his, is listed on the condo title and mortgage papers. In my papers, I�m going to ask him to sign a quit claim deed on the condo and I will take possession of one of our cars, total value is approximately $400,000. Will the judge grant my request and require him to sign the quit claim if he doesn�t respond?
2 Answers from Attorneys
Re: Failure to Respond to Divorce Summons/Petition
If you have $400,000 in assets you should hire an attorney. It is possible to serve jail inmates with court papers, it is more difficult once he is sent to a state prison. It is tricky, though, and normally requires the assistance of a professional process server. As to your other question, in the event the court orders property to be divided, and the party whose signature is required on a deed is incarcerated or otherwise unavailable, there is a procedure where one gets a court order to have the clerk of the court sign the deed "in the place and stead" of the unavailable party. Again, with this much property at stake you should not be attempting to tackle these issues yourself.
Re: Failure to Respond to Divorce Summons/Petition
You cannot obtain property via a default in a dissolution case. Supreme Court decision. You need to get an attorney. Call me directly at (619) 222-3504.
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