Divorce Document Preparation and Filing Service in California

California requires a minimum six-month waiting period before a divorce can be finalized. This period begins on the date the respondent spouse is served with the divorce papers.

In practice, most divorces take longer than six months when you factor in time to prepare documents, file, serve, and reach a full agreement. Uncontested or mediated divorces through Laguna Legal, where both parties come to agreements on all terms (with our help) tend to move faster. Contested divorces involving hearings before a  judge, where spouses battle it out through their attorneys and get charged an hourly fee for every appearance, call, letter and email can take considerably longer and cost hundreds of thousands of dollars.

The cost of a divorce in California depends on several factors, including whether the divorce is contested or uncontested, and whether you hire an attorney.

Court filing fees in California typically run between $435 and $450, though fees vary by county and can be waived for those who qualify based on income.

Attorney fees are often the biggest expense. Hiring a divorce lawyer in California can cost anywhere from $500 per hour to $1,000 per hour and typically the retainer fee you pay only takes you through the first month and has to be replenished as soon as it is depleted.

Using a document preparation service like Laguna Legal is significantly more affordable. You still pay the court filing fees, but you avoid the high cost of attorney representation when you and your spouse are able to work through our office to come up with an agreement.

Yes. California is a no-fault divorce state. That means neither spouse needs to prove that the other did something wrong in order to get a divorce. The only grounds required are “irreconcilable differences,” which simply means the marriage is not working and cannot be repaired.

This makes the process simpler for most couples, since there is no need to present evidence of wrongdoing in court.

California is a community property state, which generally means that assets and debts acquired during the marriage are split equally between spouses. However, there are exceptions, and spouses can agree to divide things differently through a Marital Settlement Agreement.

Assets that belong to one spouse before the marriage, or that were received as inheritance, are typically considered separate property and may not need to be divided.

If you and your spouse have a specific agreement about how to handle your assets, we can help you document that agreement properly as part of the divorce filing process.

Yes, it is entirely possible to get a divorce in California without hiring lawyers. This is sometimes called a “pro per” divorce, which means you are representing yourself.

To do this successfully, both spouses generally need to be in agreement about the major issues, including property, debt, support, and child custody if children are involved. When there is agreement, the paperwork is the biggest hurdle, and that is exactly what we help with at Laguna Legal.

It is worth noting that we are not attorneys and cannot give legal advice. If your situation is complicated or contested, consulting with a family law attorney is a good idea before proceeding, but bring the advice you receive from that consultation with you to mediation because it’s always better to mediate.  You have nothing to lose by starting with mediation.  If mediation doesn’t work for your situation, the attorneys and the battle will still be there and at least your paperwork will already be filed and the process will have already started.

The fastest possible divorce in California still takes at least six months due to the state’s mandatory waiting period. That said, there are things you can do to avoid unnecessary delays.

Starting with complete and accurate paperwork also helps. Documents that are missing information or contain errors can be rejected by the court and sent back for corrections, which adds delays to the timeline. Having a document preparation service like Laguna Legal handle your paperwork reduces the chance of those kinds of delays.

In California, divorce records are generally a matter of public record. This means that the basic details of a divorce, such as the names of the parties and the date of the divorce, can be accessed by members of the public.

However, certain financial documents and other sensitive materials that are filed as part of the divorce may be sealed or kept confidential, particularly when children are involved.