Legal Question in Family Law in California
A friend of mine married a US citizen. He was on a visa. They lived in California, but married in Illinois. Subsequently he divorced. Then he went back to India because his visa expired. But then there was some problem in the filing of the case and his divorce filing got rejected. Then his attorney went bankrupt. My friend wants to re-file for Divorce. Can he do it while he is not in the US? Can he represent himself or does he have to find a US Lawyer?
1 Answer from Attorneys
If he is not a current resident of California for the last six months, he cannot file in California. If his wife wants the divorce too, however, she can file here if she lives here. If they want to cooperate and the divorce will not have any contested issues, there should be no reason he needs to come to the US. I frequently help couples who want to cooperate work out the details of a divorce agreement and then help them process it to final judgment. Since I would not represent either party, I would not represent them in court and would only assist them with the paperwork. If they do not even have anything to work out as far as support, custody or property, they can even do it entirely themselves using a great book by Nolo Press called How to Do Your Own Divorce In California. Given the international twist, they probably would need a little advice on some of the details whether I help with the paperwork or the use the book, but I can provide that on an as-needed basis to keep costs down. If the wife is totally uncooperative, then your friend has a much more serious set of issues and will need to hire an attorney. In either case, if he is interested in my assistance, please have him contact me directly.