Legal Question in Family Law in California
My husband and I were supposed to have had a divorce by Default with Written Agreement in 2005. Divorce proceedings were never completed by my husbands lawyer. The following forms were filed with Indio court in Dec 04: Petition (FL 100/FL 200) Summons Issued Summons Filed (FL110/FL210/FL510)
On 7/14/05 Proof of Service on Dissolution served with service date of 12/06/04 filed. Default entered on me 7/14/05.
I have the original agreement, along with forms FL 130, FL 140, FL 180, FL 230. These were, apparantly, never filed with the court, as there was some non-payment to lawyer from my (should be)ex-husband. My question is, am I going to have to start from scratch here and write up a new agreement with current information? I'm assuming we'll have to redo FL 150 as well...?
2 Answers from Attorneys
You should consult an attorney for help in completing the dissolution process. You may have have your default set aside so that you can complete the process. You may be able to get the prior attorney to complete the process. There is nothing that can be done over the internet.
Whether you start over or you respond in the action your husband filed will not make much difference to you.a Probably, since there was no support order made, the Indio case was dismissed because of the 5 year requirement to bring a matter to trial. 5 years have passed since filing the petition and therefore the court should have, if it has not, dismissed the case and if you were try and get a judgment in that case the it would probably be denied. If you were to attempt to obtain a judgment in that case you would have to pay a first paper filing fee. If you file a new action you must pay a first paper filing fee. The only disadvantage is you must wait the 6 months before you are single. I note that you now live in San Diego County, you can file your action in San Diego County which will be easier for you. You can obtain a judgment based upon the written agreement. You may call my office and tell my paralegal that I said you could have a free telephone consultation. Believe it or not, this can probably be done by mail and fax, no need to go to court. I say probably.