This blog post will discuss the current qualifications for obtaining a Summary Dissolution of Marriage. The California Legislature recently revised the requirements for the Summary Dissolution of Marriage as of January 1, 2012. This revision means that more people will now qualify to use the Summary Dissolution of Marriage procedure.
Specifically, California Family Code § 2400(a)(4) now states that a marriage will qualify for a Summary Dissolution if the marriage is not more than five years in duration as of the date of separation of the parties. Previously, the date of marriage could not be more than five years before the date of filing.
The main advantage of the Summary Dissolution of Marriage procedure is that it is less complicated and requires much less paperwork than the Standard Dissolution of Marriage. There is no court appearance required. Once the paperwork is filed you must wait until at least six months have passed to ask the court to enter a Judgment of Dissolution of Marriage.
The current qualifications for the Summary Dissolution of Marriage are:
One of the spouses has lived in the State of California for at least six months, and in the county of filing for at least three months before the date of filing.
The marriage is not more than five years in duration as of the date of separation of the parties.
There are no minor children who were born of the relationship before or during the marriage or adopted by the spouses during their marriage. The wife, to her knowledge, is not pregnant.
Neither spouse has an interest in any real property anywhere. (You may have a lease for a residence in which one of you lives. It must terminate within a year from the date of filing this petition. The lease must not include an option to purchase.)
Except for obligations with respect to automobiles, on obligations incurred by either or both spouses during their marriage, you do not owe no more than $6,000.
The total fair market value of community property assets, not including what you owe on those assets and not including automobiles, is less than $38,000.
Neither spouse has separate property assets, not including what they owe on those assets and not including automobiles, in excess of $38,000.
Both spouses must agree to waive forever any right to receive spousal support from each other.
Both spouses must sign the Joint Petition for Summary Dissolution of Marriage.
The main disadvantage of the Summary Dissolution of Marriage is that either spouse may revoke the Summary Dissolution of Marriage until a Judgment of Dissolution of Marriage is entered. If a revocation is entered than the spouses have to start over with a Standard Dissolution of Marriage.
The author of this article, Stan Burman, is a freelance paralegal and legal document assistant with over 15 years of experience in preparing legal documents for both Summary Dissolution of Marriage and Standard Dissolution of Marriage proceedings in California. Mr. Burman may be contacted by e-mail at DivParalgl@yahoo.com for more information. He accepts payments through PayPal and Google Checkout which means that you can pay using most credit cards.
Stan Burman-Registered Legal Document Assistant
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County of Orange
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