The family law process involves a lot of forms that must be filed with the court and served on the other party. Here, you will find forms either required by, or often used, by all of the California courts to start a divorce case. These are “Judicial Council” forms. Sometimes, a court may have additional forms that are required, called local forms. You should contact the court branch directly to ask about local forms.
Getting Started:
The first thing you need to do is file your Petition and Summons. The Petition starts your case and gives the court basic information about you, your spouse, your marriage, and your children and property (if any).
The Summons lets your spouse that you started a case, in what court, the time for them to file a response, and it includes additional information that both parties must follow.
Are there children? If you and your spouse have minor children, you both will need to file what is called the Declaration under Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act, or UCCJEA. This form gives the court more detailed information about the children listed in the Petition.
The Petition, Summons, and any other form you filed with the court (with exceptions), along with a blank copy of those forms, must be personally served on your spouse. This means that the documents are handed to you spouse. There may be reasons why personal service is not possible. If any issues arise, just speak with 4WheelJD™.
If you are the Respondent, meaning you were served with a Petition and now must respond, you will fill out a Response to the Petition, and other forms as needed. For example, if you and your spouse have minor children, you will also need to complete a Declaration under UCCJEA.
The Appearance, Stipulations, and Waivers form tells the court that you and your spouse have reached an agreement and want the court to approve your agreement without a trial. This form is required when you submit a marital settlement agreement.
Financial Disclosures:
You will also need to exchange financial disclosures. You make the disclosures by filling out an Income and Expense Declaration, Schedule of Assets and Debts, and Declaration of Disclosure. This can be a time-consuming and frustrating step, especially because this is where you begin to identify what is community property and your separate property. It may also mean searching for supporting documents that you haven’t thought about in years!
The Declaration of Disclosure must be included when you serve your preliminary and final declarations of disclosure. You do not file this with the court, but you do complete it and serve it on the other party.
The Schedule of Assets and Debts accompanies the Preliminary and Final declarations of disclosures, however it is not filed with the court. It is only served on the other party. It is incredibly important that this form be filled out accurately and that you provide supporting documents for the different categories.
The Income and Expense Declaration is required as part of the Preliminary and Final declarations of disclosure. It is also required whenever you or the other party are requesting money or challenging a request for money. It must be filled out accurately, completely, and include required documents. You must also update this form if more than 90 days have passed since you last served one, unless there have been no changes to your income and expenses.
The Property Declaration may be used instead of the Schedule of Assets and Debts in some cases. If you complete this form, you have to complete one for Community/Quasi-Community Property and one for Separate Property.
The Declaration Regarding Service of Declaration of Disclosure must be filed with the court and served on the other party. This tells the court that you have exchanged the Income and Expense Declaration and either the Schedule of Assets and Debts or Property Declaration as part of your Preliminary or Final declaration of disclosure.
Request for Court Orders:
During your family law process, you may need the court to make orders on issues including, but not limited to, spousal or child support, custody and visitation, attorney fees, or some other issue. There are many forms involved with making requests, so it is recommended that you get an attorney to assist you.
The Request for Order asks the court to make decisions about certain issues in your case. Once this is filed, the court will use it to set the date and time of your hearing. It must be served on the other side once you get your hearing information.
If you were served with a Request for Order, then this is the form you use to respond. You say whether or not you agree with the orders requested. You may also make alternative requests on this form.
If you are requesting spousal support, it is a good idea (and mandatory for some courtrooms) to include this form with your Request for Order for spousal support. You can also use this form when you are responding to a request for support. It may also be attached to the Declaration for Default or Uncontested Judgment. It covers the factors the judge will use to determine whether and how much support is granted.
If you are requesting attorney fees and costs in your case, this form is used tell the court why the request should be granted or denied. It is always attached to the Request for Attorney Fees and Costs or to the Responsive Declaration.
This is a mandatory form any time you are asking the court to make an order for attorney fees and costs, even if it is not a marriage.
If you case involves custody and/or visitation issues, this form gets attached to your Petition for Dissolution, Response, Request for Order, or Responsive Declaration. It gives the court and the other party more information about your custody and visitation request, such as a parenting plan.
Serving The Other Party:
Once you have filled out your forms or pleadings, you must serve the other party. The two most common ways to serve another party is by having someone drop your packet in the mail or by having someone hand it directly to the other party (personal service). You may also be able to serve your documents by fax or email (electronic service). You must file proof with the court that your form or pleading was served.
The Proof of Personal Service tells the court that the other party was handed the forms or pleadings. It lists what documents were served, who served it, when it was served, and where it was served. Service must be done by someone over the age of 18 who is not a party to the case and that person must sign the proof of service.
The Proof of Service by Mail tells the court that you served the other party with the forms or pleadings by mailing it. Like the Proof of Personal Service, it lists the documents that were served and who served it. It also tells the court how it was mailed, where it was mailed, and when it was mailed. Service must be completed by someone who is not a party to the case and that person must sign the proof of service.
The Proof of Electronic Service tells the court that you caused your forms or pleadings to be sent electronically (ex: email or fax) on the other party. It lists the documents that were served, tells who served the other party, where it was sent from and when it was sent. The person who served the documents, who is not a party to the case, must sign the proof of service.
Finishing up:
Your divorce case will come to an end. All cases end in a judgment, whether it is through the court, agreement, or it is by default or uncontested.
If you case was resolved by default, was uncontested, or you reached an agreement, you must file the Declaration for Default or Uncontested Dissolution or Legal Separation.
Once the court has ruled in your case or you have reached an agreement you must file the Judgment form. It sets forth the orders issued by the court (with necessary attachments) or includes the stipulation (agreement) between you and the other party.
You must also submit the Notice of Entry of Judgment to the court. However, you only need to fill out the top portion above the title of the form. The court will complete the rest of the document and send it back to you. It will state the date that your marital status changed and the date the Judgment was entered.
There are may be other forms that may be used in your case. This page includes some of the more common forms. If you are unsure about which forms to use please speak to an attorney. Your lawyer can also help you make sure these forms and pleadings are filled out correctly, as well as have them served properly.
Contact 4WheelJD™ with your questions and to see how we can help.
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