Legal Question in Family Law in California
When is it final?
I wanted a divorce so my husband was the petitioner and filed before me on Nov.8th, my responce wasn't until Nov. 21st. The petition and responce didn't agree with eachother...but nothing else was done except for the child custody. When is my divorce final? and do I have to go back to court to request it to be final, or does it happen automaticly?
4 Answers from Attorneys
Re: When is it final?
Your divorce will not be final until there is a court order dissolving the marriage. To obtain an order disolving the marriage: First at least 6 months must elapse after the court obtains jurisdiction over the respondent, by service of the summons and petition or the first appearance; Second when an answer is filed the parties must either agree upon the terms of the order for custody, support, visitation, property division etc; or there must be a trial and a court order.
You should hire an attorney to get your case moving.
Re: When is it final?
If custody was the only issue to be decided between the spouses, the custody agreement would be the eventual judgment. All that remains is to go through the court's red tape. Once the court's judgment is entered, the divorce is final and all orders are effective immediately (unless a spouse finds evidence of fraud, perjury or mistake of law that would have affected the outcome of custody or property distribution). However, the marriage isn't dissolved until six months after notice was served on the non-petitioning spouse (in a summary dissolution) or six months after the petition was filed. All in all this process can take up to a year or more. Petitioners can take up to five years to complete the process if there is no hurry.
Re: When is it final?
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, and EDD
hearings and appeals, as well as information
about me (education, experience, et cetera)
and my office (location, hours, fees, policies).
NOW, IN RESPONSE TO YOUR INQUIRY
Set the matter for trial and negotiate against that
deadline. If you can't settle you will have to litigate.
Thanks for sharing your interesting inquiry with
us on LawGuru, and good luck with your case.
Re: When is it final?
You could separate the issue of dissolving the marriage, to make that issue final and you would be single in about a month. But, if only child custody was resolved, what happened to child support? You could be losing $100's of dollars a month. Get a consultation with a family law attorney, know what should happen with child support. The attorney may get a contribution from your husband toward your attorney's fees, by court order. Child support does not start until you file a motion to request the support. Every day could be costing you money. Visit a web site about child support, to you have some background information.