what do i need to file for divorce?

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Once you’ve decided to file for divorce, you’ll need to have some information and paperwork available to you so that you can get your petition filed and start working on your financial disclosures.

You will also need to have the filing fee or information for a fee waiver. The state filing fee is currently $435, however, some counties, such as San Francisco, charge more. The current fee in San Francisco County is $450.

Petition and Summons

  • For your petition and summons, you will need to know your date of marriage and your date of separation. If you’re not sure about your separation date, you can put “TBD” for “to be determined.”
  • You will need to know whether you meet the residency requirements for California. Learn more about residency requirements at Romanovska Law - Residency Requirements.
  • If you have children, you’ll need to provide their full names and birth dates.
  • You should also know what kind of custody you are asking for. Learn more about child custody and support at Romanovska Law - Child Custody and Support.
  • If you have children, you will need to file form FL-105, the Declaration Under Uniform Child Custody and Jurisdiction Act. For this form, you will need to know all the addresses where your children have lived in the past five years.
  • You should know whether you want to ask for spousal support or ask that the other side not be granted spousal support.
  • You should know whether you have separate property and community property. It’s okay if you don’t have a list of all the property yet, that can be marked “TBD” as well.

That information should be enough to get your petition and summons filled out and filed with the court.

Financial Disclosures

Once you’ve filed a petition and gotten it served, you will need to start working on your financial disclosures. For those, you’ll need at the very least your two most recent tax returns and two most recent months of pay stubs. Learn more about financial disclosures at Romanovska Law - PDD.

By gathering your information and paperwork early in the divorce process, you can help the process move more quickly and can help prevent stress down the line.

If you have questions about starting your divorce, contact Romanovska Law for assistance.

Filing for divorce

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