Providing Divorce Mediation Services Throughout California
Providing Divorce Mediation Services Throughout California
In this blog, I’ll discuss the required Disclosures for a divorce in Santa Clara County, also known as the Preliminary Declarations of Disclosure.
In Santa Clara County, before finalizing your divorce, you and your spouse must complete your Preliminary Declaration of Disclosure. This means: completing and exchanging your Schedule of Assets and Debts (FL-142) and your Income and Expense Declaration (FL-150). You must complete these forms even in divorce mediation. At FamiliesFirstMediation, we work closely with our couples so that completing these forms is straightforward and complete.
On the Schedule of Assets and Debts, you list the assets you own and the debts you owe. You might value or list the assets as of the date of separation or today’s current date. List both your separate property and community property assets and debts. The Schedule of Assets and Debts is not filed with the court, but you do sign and submit a Judicial Council form with the court stating it has been done.
On your Income and Expense Declaration, you disclose your income on pages 1 and 2, and the expenses you pay on page 3. On page 4, you provide information related to any minor children as it relates to health insurance, medical expenses, child care, education, travel costs, and hardships. Of importance is paragraph 13 on page 3. This section asks you to list your monthly expenses. For your benefit, you might work on two versions. The first one might list your expenses while married. The second version you would list your expected expenses once you separate. This will help you determine whether you’ll be able to afford your lifestyle after divorce. For expenses that are irregular, average the entire cost over one year and divide by twelve, for the monthly amount.
Exchanging these forms with your spouse is very important. California law, which includes Santa Clara County, requires that spouses fully disclose all assets, whether community or separate, to one another. A failure to disclose can result in sanctions. When you finalize your divorce, you will sign Judicial Council forms stating you have fully complied with these rules. If a party fails to disclose material facts that impact the final agreement or court order, that portion of the agreement or court order might be unenforceable, and the party that failed to disclose those facts, subject to severe penalties. Although it can feel repetitive or cumbersome, take time to do your disclosures well. If you need assistance, reach out to a divorce professional for help.
At Families First Mediation, we provide mediation services including collaborative divorce, which include assistance in completing these forms. Call us now at (408) 357-3486 or email us at [email protected]
Mediation, get your divorce and issues done through coordination, and save yourself from financial, emotional, and time.
Families First Mediation is a pioneer in the field of divorce mediation. Our entire divorce mediation team takes great pride in being active trainers, divorce mediators and teachers of mediation in the greater California area. If you are considering a collaborative divorce, legal seperation or looking for a san jose divorce lawyer we have services that may be beneficial to you. Take advantage of our vast expertise and background in the field of divorce mediation and our genuine desire to help with your divorce mediation services.
