One Day Divorce in Sacramento County Part 1

by | May 29, 2013 | Firm News |

Can a couple really be divorced in one day?  In Sacramento County, there is a new wave sweeping the Sacramento divorce law community known as the “One Day Divorce” program.  (See the following link for more information  http://www.kcra.com/news/local-news/news-sacramento/One-Day-Divorce-Program-helps-divorcees-Sacramento-court/-/12969376/19515182/-/item/1/-/12jnny1z/-/index.html.)  This program was conceived by Superior Court judge and it is intended to speed up the sometimes long and frustrating divorce process.  Also, the Sacramento divorce courts are clogged with many cases where parties are unrepresented.  The linked article estimates that 72% of parties are unrepresented in their Sacramento divorce case.  Due to the state budget cuts, the court judges and staff are overworked and lacking court budget resources to help expedite the divorce process.

This One Day Divorce program at first glance looks like it is a good idea, but one may ask if it is too good to be true.  It is our opinion that while it is possible for parties to be divorced in one day, it still requires both parties to agree and cooperate.  If the spouses cannot stand each other and are fighting over property or spousal support, they will not be able to obtain a Sacramento One Day Divorce.

The Sacramento One Day Divorce program also requires the presentation of all material asset, debt and income information.  In any Sacramento divorce, one party must file the petition for divorce, and the other party must file the response to petition.  Each party must pay $435 to the court to file their petition and response unless they qualify for a low income fee waiver.  Both must serve their respective petitions on each other using a neutral adult or process server.