San Diego Divorce, Legal Separation & Paternity: 2014: The Fundamentals

CAN YOU FILE IN SAN DIEGO COUNTY?

It is very important to understand the requirements and they are different for a paternity, legal separation or divorce in San Diego Superior Court. For a divorce, you or your spouse must have lived in San Diego County for at least the last three months and in California for at least six months before filing a petition and summons. For a legal separation, there is no statutory waiting requirement as with a divorce. For a paternity, intercourse must have occurred in San Diego and the child must have been conceived in San Diego or the child is living in San Diego when the complaint to establish a paternal relationship is filed or the Respondent lives in San Diego. For issues relating to filing for jurisdiction over children, it is crucial to comply with the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction Enforcement Act which may place a six month residency period of the child or children living in San Diego as well. For example, while one of the parties may live in San Diego and the Court can obtain jurisdiction over that parent and proceed with a divorce in San Diego, the other parent and minor children may be living in another state and never been to San Diego. In this case, the San Diego Superior Court would not have jurisdiction over the issue of child custody and child visitation. You do not want to pay the $435 filing fee to the Clerk of the Court for the initial filing fee and also the $60 for any motion to be filed if the case cannot be filed in San Diego Superior Court due to lack of jurisdiction.

WHERE DO YOU FILE FOR LEGAL SEPARATION, DIVORCE & PATERNITY IN SAN DIEGO?

It is important to know where you need to file and this depends on where you live in San Diego. Escondido, Oceanside, San Marcos, Vista and other north county communities will file in Vista Court House located on Melrose Drive. If you live in Rancho Bernardo, Del Mar, Scripps Ranch, Rancho Santa Fe, Rancho Penasquitos and other central county communities, you will file in San Diego Court House located on Melrose. If you live in Chula Vista, Bonita, San Ysidro and National City and other south county communities, you will file in Chula Vista Court House located on H Street. If you live in Lemon Grove, Santee, Ramona or El Cajon or other east county communities, you will file in El Cajon Court House on East Main Street.

SHOULD YOU FILE FOR A DIVORCE OR LEGAL SEPARATION IF YOU ARE MARRIED AND WHAT ARE SOME DIFFERENCES?

Filing for a divorce or legal separation is a very personal decision and only you can make this. Some spouses will never file for divorce and have deep religious convictions about never getting divorced There are still two countries in the world [Philippines & Vatican City] which do not grant divorce. Some spouses need health insurance coverage and are uninsurable so a legal separation can accomplish the goal of legally separating and moving forward apart while still allowing medical coverage. For most spouses, they file for divorce. This is due to not wanting to have to go through the legal procedure twice: legal separation judgment and divorce judgment. A petition for legal separation may be amended to a petition for divorce before the legal separation judgment is entered but this requires an additional pleading.

WHAT IS A PATERNITY CASE?

A paternity case is where the parents are not married at time of birth or conception.

WHAT KINDS OF ISSUES WILL YOU HAVE IN YOUR PATERNITY, LEGAL SEPARATION OR DIVORCE?

In a divorce or legal separation, there will be issues of custody, visitation, child support, spousal support, division of assets, division of debts and attorney fees among others. In a paternity, there are not spousal support or division of debts or division of assets.

HOW CAN A SAN DIEGO LAW FIRM HELP YOU?

Doppelt and Forney, APLC is a local San Diego law firm with full time attorneys and staff. There is free parking and an elevator. They are conveniently located right off the I-15 and open Monday through Friday for your convenience. Please feel free to call and schedule an appointment today.