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Filing for divorce
Disentangling your life from that of your soon-to-be-ex is complicated emotionally, with divorce forms and papers in addition to dividing your property and considering custody of any children. As much as you want the process to be over, you also want to make sure that you’re protected, which isn’t necessarily an outcome if you file for divorce.
Barajas allows you to work with a professional to sort through the complicated questions and documents that come with divorces to make sure that you’re doing what’s best for your family while making sure your own interests are protected as well.
Uncontested divorce
No divorce case is ever simple, but an uncontested divorce is hopefully a somewhat less painful option for couples. In an uncontested divorce, both parties have agreed to the divorce itself and the particulars of the split, including child custody, alimony, and the division of property. That agreement allows them to avoid a longer and more expensive court process, between lawyer fees and court costs.
With the details out of the way, the couple can file the necessary forms and their divorce settlement agreement with the court and wait for a judge to issue the divorce decree, which may include an order for a name change if one party wishes.
With the details out of the way, the couple can file the necessary forms and their divorce settlement agreement with the court and wait for a judge to issue the divorce decree, which may include an order for a name change if one party wishes.
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Separation
Couples that are considering a split can first opt for a separation instead of a divorce. Separation differs from divorce. A separation court order will divide your assets and set the terms of alimony, child custody, and support as would a divorce, but the parties remain bound together even while leading separate lives.
Some couples opt for separation as opposed to divorce or annulment due to religious beliefs or a desire to keep the family unit together for the sake of their children, or for the more practical reasons of maintaining health insurance or other benefits that would be lost to one party through divorce.
Alimony
Depending upon the financial situation of a couple, one party may be entitled to ask for spousal support. Also known as alimony, this support provides for a spouse that has a lesser income than their partner, often due to that spouse working less hours or stepping away from work altogether to raise children.
Alimony can be paid in a lump-sum payment but is most often set up as recurring monthly payments for a period set forth by a judge in a court order. Those payments can be ended early under conditions set forth in that order, like the spouse receiving the support finding a higher-paying job, cohabitating, or remarrying.
Child custody
The most important, and often most contentious, consideration of any divorce process is child custody. Each parent wants what’s best for their child, but there can be significant disagreement on what that means in terms of care, living arrangements, and child support.
Ideally, parents come together to reach an accommodation for custody that avoids a long and ugly battle, but if they can’t agree, the courts will make the ultimate decision in the best interest of the child.
In determining custody, courts consider the relative fitness of each parent to care and provide for the child, as well as the relationship between the child and each of the parents and the preference of the child, provided they are old enough to give their opinion.
Legal custody vs physical custody
There are two different kinds of custody:
1
Legal custody
is the right of a parent to make decisions about a child’s medical care, schooling, or other important factors in their life.
2
Physical custody
pertains to where and with whom a child is living.
Depending upon what the courts find, they may award sole legal and/or physical custody to one parent, or joint legal and physical custody to both parents, or some mixture of the two.
How Barajas can help
Any divorce is going to be complicated and only gets more so when kids, houses, and 401ks are added to the mix. With Barajas, you can get professional advice is the smart way to tackle your divorce, especially in considering what you can save in lawyer’s fees.
Barajas divorce services include Meeting on your home and accounts and other assets and how they may be divided; your obligations to your common debt; the custody arrangements for your children; and the review of any prenuptial agreements or any divorce documents that you need to submit, all at a low price.
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​You can’t avoid the filing fees that come with a divorce, but you can avoid spending a fortune on the necessary professional services.
JOINT PETITION FOR DIVORCE
$500+
includes Decree of Divorce
MOTIONS TO MODIFY INCLUDES
$750 - $1,250
includes financial disclosure
DIVORCE BY PUBLICATION COMPLETE PROCESS
$850
PROCESS SERVER
$70
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