You and your spouse have tried everything to work out your differences, but you have come to the conclusion that you must divorce. You bear no animosity towards one another and your divorce will be uncontested, so you think you will not need an attorney. You may want to think again.
No matter how amicable a split up may be, there are still issues that can come up when you file for a divorce. You may find the paperwork you must fill out to be confusing and there may also be certain details that you and your spouse simply have not taken into consideration.
Do you know exactly how you are going to divide every single stick of furniture? If you are selling your house, have you agreed on a price? Working with a divorce lawyer, like the ones at The Goldberg Legal Group, can make things go smoothly and reduce the stress of the experience.
A seasoned California divorce attorney knows all the details of the forms for an uncontested divorce by heart. When people fill out their own divorce forms, they often miss details or do not give enough details when planning the division of property or assets. Often times, couples will end up coming back to court over and over again to fill out details that they initially missed. An attorney will know exactly what issues may arise and how to write an unambiguous divorce agreement.
Divorce Laws in California
In order to qualify for a no contest divorce in California, one of you must be a California resident and the grounds for the divorce must be “irreconcilable differences.” The couple must not have any minor children together and the total of debts acquired during the relationship may not be over $6000. Neither of you may seek alimony and neither of you may have assets of over $38,000 and the marital assets may not be over $38,000.
Length of Marriage
You may not get an uncontested divorce if you were married for over five years before you separated. But what if the length of the separation is precarious? What if you separated a few times before finally deciding to get a divorce? If you lived together before the marriage you may have been considered to be married by common law. A divorce attorney can iron out the messy technicalities and let you know if you qualify for a no contest divorce in the first place.
Prenuptial agreements
If there was a prenuptial agreement during the divorce, you and your attorney can make sure that each of the terms of the prenup is met in the settlement agreement.
Benefits of Hiring an Attorney
Even if your divorce is a friendly one, you both want to move on with your life. You do not want to make repeated visits to court, and you probably don’t want to spend every night together going over the excruciating minutiae of divorce paperwork and deciding who gets what. An attorney can consult with you, together or separately. They can take care of the paperwork and call you if they have any questions. The two of you can go about your normal business and let your attorney deal with the paperwork.
Getting a divorce is no fun, even if you are good friends. A good attorney can make things easier, so you can begin the next chapter of your life.
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