What is a FL 165 or Request to Enter Default

Experienced Bay Area family law attorneys will tell clients that a Request to Enter Default (Judicial Council Form FL-165) is the mandatory Judicial Council form to use in applying for an entry of a respondent's default in a divorce.

The form requires that either an Income and Expense Declaration (Judicial Council Form FL-150) or a Financial Statement (Simplified) (Judicial Council Form FL-155) and a Property Declaration (Judicial Council Form FL-160) be attached to the request unless (1) these documents were previously filed and there have been no changes; (2) there is a written agreement settling all issues subject to disposition in the action; (3) there are no issues of child, partner, or spousal support or attorney fees and costs; (4) the petition does not request money, property, costs, or attorney fees; (5) there are no issues of division of community property; or (6) the action is one to establish a parental relationship (i.e., an action under the Uniform Parentage Act (Fam C §§7600–7730)), rather than a marital action.

If you need assistance filling out your Request for Default, you can contact me at Amanda@gordonfamilylaw.com for more information.. 

What is service of process and why do I need proof?

Getting a divorce takes time, money, and patience. One of the ways your patience may be tested is the numerous forms and steps that it takes to properly start the dissolution time clock. Remember, in California, the earliest a divorce can be finalized is six months after the dissolution filing is complete. 

The first step is for one party to file these forms:

• Petition — Marriage/Domestic Partnership (Form FL-100). On this form, you give the court some basic information about your marriage and/or domestic partnership, and you ask for the orders you want the court to make.
• Summons (Family Law) (Form FL-110 | video instructions ).  This form contains important information for you and for your spouse or domestic partner about the divorce or separation process. It contains some standard restraining orders limiting what you can do with your property, money, and other assets or debts

The second step is to serve these forms on the opposing party (or spouse) and both give them a blank response and file something called a Proof of Service of Summons form:

• Fill out the Proof of Service of Summons (Form FL-115).  
• Give the Proof of Service to you. If your spouse/partner was served by mail and Notice and Acknowledgment of Receipt, make sure your server also gives you the Notice and Acknowledgment of Receipt — Family Law(Form FL-117). 

What if you forget to fill out the Proof of Service of Summons?

After service is made, proof of this service must be filed with the court within 60 days of completion of service. However, if the opposing party appears in the action by filing a responsive pleading, this step is not necessary.

If service occurs after the filing of the petition and summons, then a Proof of Service can be filed as a separate document.  There will need to be a caption on this form because the court cannot add to your case file without a caption.   

The filing for dissolution is not complete until this step has been taken. You can contact me at Amanda@gordonfamilylaw.com for more information.

What happens if one spouse dies during a divorce?

If one spouse dies during your divorce proceedings, than the entire matter ends and goes to Probate.  The law states that where a party dies before the marriage is dissolved, the dissolution action abates. [In re Marriage of Campbell, 136 Cal. App. 4th 502, 38 Cal. Rptr. 3d 908 (6th Dist. 2006).

You can contact me at Amanda@gordonfamilylaw.com for more information.

What is a motion for reconsideration?

If you are unhappy with the Court’s order, you may consider asking the Judge to reconsider. 

Be careful because a motion for reconsideration is only available if you think there were new or different facts that occurred between filing your motion and the Judge’s order.  You can request the Court reconsider the order on it’s own motion.  A motion to reconsider must be brought within 10 days after service of written notice of entry of the order. The Court can at any time reconsider on it’s own motion. Le Francois v. Goel 5 C4th at 1107.  

You can contact me at Amanda@gordonfamilylaw.com for more information.

Request for Order or FL 300

If you have been served with a Request for Order or FL 300 by an attorney, you may be wondering what to do next.

A Request for Order or FL 300 is a request for a court hearing asking the Judge to make certain orders on your case. This could be an order for temporary custody/visitation, child support, spousal support, or attorney’s fees. The Court will typically set a hearing for more than 3 weeks from the date the RFO is filed.

You are required to show up on the hearing date listed on the first page of the RFO.

If you disagree with the requests made in the papers given to you, you should file a Response to the RFO or FL -320.  If the motion was not properly served, you can also consider a motion to quash.

The responding party may use FL 320 to seek affirmative relief different from that requested by the moving party on the same issues raised by the moving party.  Family Code 213.  Be careful because a Responsive Declaration cannot be used to request affirmative relief on issues not raised by the moving party.  For example, if the RFO requests child custody, the Responsive declaration cannot request spousal support.

All responsive papers must be served and filed no later than nine court days before the hearing.  Keep in mind that while frustrating, late responsive papers are often still read by the Court and you the Court will look at any documents presented to it before your hearing.

If you have been served with a Request for Order or FL 300 by an attorney and have questions, contact Gordon Family Law for help.   You can contact me at Amanda@gordonfamilylaw.com for more information.