tinac91762 said:
What is the name of your state? California
I have been sererated for 2 years and my husband has just started a 3 year prision term for trying to hunt me down with a gun
i had heard that there is some type of paper work i can file that wont cost me anything for a quick divorce since it was domestic voilence related and because he is in prision how do i go about how do i go about this
My response:
California's "summary dissolution" law provides a simple and expeditious method of terminating marriages of relatively short duration (maximum five years), involving minimal community property and unpaid debts, and no minor children. The proceeding is "summary" in nature because it presupposes the parties have worked out their differences, thus dispensing with the need for judicial intervention and mediation. [Ca Fam § 2400 et seq.]
Summary dissolution is a relatively straight-forward inexpensive procedure for dissolving a marriage. The ultimate goal of marital dissolution proceeds to judgment just as the name implies--i.e., summarily. No formal court hearings or appearances are required; and a final judgment of dissolution may be entered within six months after filing a joint petition. [Ca Fam §§ 2401, 2403; Ca Rules of Court Rule 1271]
A "Summary Dissolution Information" booklet (Ca Rules of Court Rule 1295.11), provided the parties at county expense, describes the procedures and general law step-by-step, so that spouses will be equipped to proceed without a lawyer (although the booklet also advises of the pitfalls of foregoing legal counsel and of the risks of opting for a "summary" rather than a "regular" dissolution. [Ca Fam § 2406]
Conditions for Summary Dissolution:
A summary dissolution is available only when all of the following conditions exist at the time the proceeding is commenced (Ca Fam § 2400(a)):
Jurisdictional prerequisites:
Either party meets the Ca Fam § 2320 "jurisdictional" requirements for marriage dissolution (resident of the state for at least six months and of the county where the petition is filed for at least three months). [Ca Fam § 2400(a)(1)]
Grounds:
"Irreconcilable differences have caused the irremediable breakdown of the marriage and the marriage should be dissolved." [Ca Fam § 2400(a)(2)]
No children:
There are no children of the parties' relationship born before or during their marriage or adopted during their marriage; and the wife, to her knowledge, is not pregnant. [Ca Fam § 2400(a)(3)]
Comment:
Though not specified in the statute, the "no children" requirement presumably means minor children of the parties. (While the parties cannot have been married more than five years, they conceivably could have adult children by premarital cohabitation or adoption. This should not disqualify the spouses from a summary dissolution since, as to adult children, there would ordinarily be no concern about statutory child support obligations.)
Maximum five-year marriage:
The marriage is no more than five years in duration at the time the petition is filed. [Ca Fam § 2400(a)(4)]
No real property interests other than short-term residence lease:
Neither party has any interest in real property (wherever situated), with the exception of the lease of a residence occupied by either party if it does not include an option to purchase and if it terminates within one year from the date of filing the petition. [Ca Fam § 2400(a)(5)]
Maximum marital debts:
There are no debts in excess of $5,000 incurred by either or both parties during the marriage, excluding automobile purchase balances. [Ca Fam § 2400(a)(6)]
The forms are at your local county courthouse. See the Family Law clerk, and pick up the aforestated pamphlets.
IAAL
