What Happens When A Divorce Case Is Filed In San Diego County?
First, you and/or your attorney complete, sign, copy and hand your initial paperwork and the $320 filing fee to the clerk of the San Diego County family court. Your case is then filed, and a Summons is issued. Copies of this initial paperwork, and a few additional documents, must then be served on the other spouse. From the day the other spouse is served, two time clocks began to run: First, the other spouse has 30 days to respond by filing a response; and second, the six month waiting period marking the earliest date the marriage can legally end starts to run. (Note that the six month period starts running not on the filing of the case, but on the service or process on the other spouse.)
Several more documents will need to be filed with the court and served on the other party. In uncontested cases, these documents can all be served by mail. Which documents must be filed and served varies somewhat from case to case. Many people find the number and complexity of the documents required, frankly, dizzying and confusing. They often hire an attorney simply to get them through the paperwork part of the process, whether they feel a need to have an attorney speak for them at court or not.
Remember, however, that no further orders are made and no judgment is entered in the case without someone asking the court to move the case along.
In fact, the case can be dismissed if neither spouse takes action to finish the case. In other words, a petitioner is not automatically divorced six months after his or her spouse is served. No court orders are automatically made at this point (where the initial papers have been filed and served), other than the standard mutual restraining orders that appear on the back of the Summons.
If special orders are needed for child custody in San Diego County, visitation, child support in San Diego County, domestic violence restraining orders, or any other kind of a special order, someone must properly present a request to the judge on that particular issue.
Representing one's self in these court proceedings can be tedious, stressful, fraught with risk, and in all cases, require the self-represented party to deal directly with his or her spouse or the opposing attorney.
