Legal Question in Family Law in California

May I Fib on Divorce Papers?

My husband and I have no community property, no community debts, and do not want anything that the other has. We have been living seperatly for six months and we still care about each other enough that we will cooperate through our divorce. (We are divorcing because he has been unable to control his violent outburts and I have had to have him arrested twice - I finally left him.) We were married for three and a half years.

I would like to complete the paperwork for a summary dissolution myself, but I see that we must list all of our assets and neither of us can have more than 25K in individual assets. I'm sure that my combined 401K's and my savings exceed that amount.

As I said, neither of us wants anything from the other. Can I just complete the forms saying that we have no property? If no one contests the divorce, is there anything wrong with doing that?


Asked on 1/09/03, 4:23 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
E. Daniel Bors Jr. Attorney & Counselor At Law

Re: May I Fib on Divorce Papers?

Dear Inquirer:

Nothing herein shall create an attorney-client relationship, unless a written retainer agreement is executed by the attorney and client. This communication contains general information only. Nothing herein shall constitute an attorney-client communication nor legal advice. There likely are deadlines and time-limits associated with your case; you should contact an attorney of your choice for legal advice specific to your personal situation, at once.

If you haven't already done so, please visit my

web site at --

http://home.pacbell.net/edbjr/ OR

http://www.CaliforniaDivorceAttorney.com

The site contains quite a bit of general information about California Family Law, Tenants' Rights, and Juvenile Dependencies, as well as information about me (education, experience, et cetera) and my office (location, hours, fees, policies).

NOW, IN RESPONSE TO YOUR INQUIRY --

I do not recommend fibbing. It could come back to haunt you. If the divorce truly is to be uncontested you can easily do it the "normal way" thus avoiding the limits imposed for summary dissolution. Go to any library or bookstore and get a do-it-yourself book, read it carefully, and follow the directions precisely. (Nolo Press has an excellent one.)

Thanks for sharing your interesting inquiry with us on LawGuru, and good luck with your case.

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Answered on 1/09/03, 4:39 pm


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