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Summary Dissolution: A Simplified Divorce Process

Remember the old thing about “what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas?”

Our client, “Matt”, spent a wild weekend in Vegas and ended up married. He and his wife, “Zoe”, realized that whatever happened in Vegas clearly stayed right there. By the time they got home, Matt and Zoe knew they had made a very bad mistake.

Annulments are granted in very limited circumstances, and the court does not consider short-term marriage as grounds for annulment, so they were exploring their options. Zoe was leaving for Mexico in two months, and they wanted to complete any necessary paperwork before she left.

Summary Dissolution: A simplified Divorce process

Fortunately, the California courts offer a Summary Dissolution, a simplified Divorce process. If the parties meet the qualifications, the Summary Dissolution involves fewer steps and less paperwork than a Divorce. The couple submits a joint Petition to the court, and the court sends them a filed judgment order approximately six months and one day from the day the Petition is submitted. (By California law, a Divorce must take at least six months and one day to finalize.)

Qualifications for Summary Dissolution are fairly stringent:

  • Fewer than five years between the time the couple got married and the time they separate.
  • No children have been born to the two of them before or during the marriage.
  • They have no adopted children under 18 years of age.
  • Neither is pregnant.
  • Neither owns any part of any land or buildings.
  • Their community property is not worth more than $40,000 (excluding vehicles).
  • Neither has separate property worth more than $40,000 (excluding vehicles).
  • The total of their community obligations (other than vehicles) is $6,000 or less.
  • At least one of them has lived in California for the past six months or longer and has lived in the county where the filing is occurring for the past three months or longer.
  • They have prepared and signed an agreement that states how their possessions and debts are to be divided (or they have no community property or community obligations)
  • Both are willing to sign the joint Petition and all related documents to carry out the agreement.

Fortunately, Matt and Zoe qualified for a Summary Dissolution, and they completed our workbook together. We prepared the legal document, the Joint Petition, within a few days, and they came in to sign it and have it notarized. After paying our fee and the county court’s fee, we took the Petition to be filed with the court. After the required six-month window had passed, we called Matt and Zoe and confirmed that they had received their order from the court. Their Dissolution was final, and their brief marriage was officially over.

Family law is an important legal document assistance area for us. We’ve helped hundreds of couples get divorced. For those who may be contemplating Divorce, we are happy to answer questions and explain how we work with our clients. Contact California Document Preparers at one of our three Bay Area offices today to schedule an appointment. We’re helpful, compassionate and affordable.