Gilbert Fisher Divorce Law Blog on Lawyers.com

What to do First When You are Getting a Divorce

Wednesday, August 12, 2009 by Gilbert Fisher

When you file divorce in Fresno or anywhere in California, the law states that you need to involve some of the following steps, and certain contested cases may also involve additional steps:

The Dissolution Petition must first be filed with the court. By law the respondent then has thirty days to file a "response." However, if the respondent is in total agreement with the facts stated in the Petition, the file for divorce can go on as an uncontested matter. By law, if the case is contested then the parties will usually implement a process called discovery. In fact, the law says one of the legally required aspects of divorce is to file a document called a Declaration of Disclosure.

After discovery is completed, the parties will discuss resolution of the case. If the case is determined by agreement, one side will file a Marital Settlement Agreement, which by law contains all of the terms of the agreement. This agreement is a contract between the parties, which is adopted by the court as a judgement, and can be enforced by the court in the future if any laws pertaining to the agreement are breached. If the parties are not able to concur on all of the issues of their case, they will go to trial. After the trial has concluded, one of the attorneys will prepare and file a document called a Judgment of Dissolution of Marriage, based on the judge’s decision in the case.

According to the law, this is the document that contains all of the court's orders. The judgment is then filed and the court mails a Notice of Entry of Judgment to each party and their attorneys. That fundamentally ends the formal divorce process according to the law. After the divorce is final, either of the parties can go back to court to file for an adjustment to certain stipulations if there has been a alteration of circumstance.

For example, there can be a change of child guardianship or visitation, child support, and by law even issues such as alimony in Fresno; as long as there was no prior agreement filed for that such alimony terms were non-modifiable.

Fisher & Leiser - Fresno divorce law firms
600 W. Shaw Avenue, Suite 100
Fresno, CA 93720
Phone: 559-892-0365

Posted at 12:48 PM

Topic: Divorce