Monthly Archives: April 2015

Facebook = Service?

In New York, a judge recently ruled that you can serve your spouse with divorce papers via Facebook.  The ruling is here.  (Please note that this ruling applies to one New York case, and it is not a binding rule regarding service in California.)

What is service?

Filing your dissolution (divorce) Summons and Petition only starts your case.  The other party must be served with the papers.

“Service” is getting your legal papers properly delivered to your spouse.  The other party needs to have appropriate notice so that his/her due process rights are protected.  The rules governing service are set forth in Code of Civil Procedure Sections 415.10-415.95.  These rules are set forth in simpler language at the Court’s Self-Help website.  Service can range from hand delivery to a notice posted on the courthouse wall.  What service is deemed appropriate depends on the case.

Personal service is preferred, but not always possible.  Service via Facebook (allowed in the referenced New York case) is a form of substituted service in that it “[n]ot only is it reasonably calculated to provide defendant with notice that he is being sued for divorce, but every indication is that it will achieve what should be the goal of every method of service: actually delivering the summons to him.”

If you are thinking of initiating a divorce proceedings, be sure to talk to an experienced family law attorney who can help determine how best to serve the initial pleadings.

 

So Long to Spousal Support?

A California resident is attempting to place a ballot initiative on the November 2016 ballot that would significantly alter (eliminate?) spousal support in California.  The proposed ballot initiative can be found here.

Spousal support is governed by Family Code Section 4300 (et. seq.) and case law.  In short, “a person shall support the person’s spouse.”  Fam. Code § 4300.  Section 4320 sets forth the factors the court is to review when determining post-dissolution spousal support.  The proposed revision would have 4300 read:  “No party shall be unfairly burdened because the other party is unwilling to become self-supporting.”    The “new” 4320 would eliminate the spousal support factors as there would be no need for them without any legally authorized spousal support.

The ballot initiative, if passed, would a) immediately eliminate current spousal support orders less than 10 years in length and b) reduce by 20% per year for 5 years orders with a duration for greater than 10 years.   Spousal support is currently modifiable based on a change in circumstances, court order, or agreement by the parties.  The proposal appears to eliminate spousal support completely by 2021.

To become an official ballot initiative, certain steps must be followed.  Click here to learn more about that process.  If it obtains the necessary signatures, it still must win a vote at the polls.