AM I DIVORCED YET?

I frequently receive questions from people regarding their family law issues. The following is a question which the inquirer agreed may be publicly revealed, and my answer to the question:

QUESTION: How can I determine if I am still legally married in California?

My lawyer states that I am now single even though we have not signed the MSA. He says that since the judgment was read into the record at the MSC and the final DODs have been exchanged, that date will show up on the judgment.

Both parties responded at the hearing that we understand and accept the agreement.

At this point I am very confused since the final MSA is still not 100% complete, so how can we be divorced? There is no FL-180 Judgment and FLl-190 Notice of Entry of Judgment, and there was no required signing. Please give me your advice. Thank you.

ANSWER: Go to the court clerk's office and ask to inspect the file in your case.

If a Judgment has been signed by the Judge and is in the file, look at the language in the Judgment - which should tell you if and/or when your marital status was terminated, if that has been done.

If the file isn't available in the clerk's office, it may be in the Judge's courtroom awaiting his signature, or in processing, pending return to the clerk's office for filing and entry of Judgment.

If the Judgment has not been signed or filed, it may have been rejected by the Court for deficiencies to be corrected and re-submitted, or you may have misunderstood your lawyer, or he may have misunderstood your question.

If the terms of the Judgment were read into the record and one party testified to the effect that irreconcilable differences have caused an irremediable breakdown of the marriage, no MSA would be needed for the Judge to declare that your marriage is Dissolved (i.e., grant a Dissolution of your Marriage) and to accept the terms of the Judgment that were read into the record pursuant to both parties' statements on the record that they understand and accept those terms. In that event, the written MSA that you indicate hadn't been completed would not be needed.

However, even if the Judge pronounced that your marriage is dissolved, it won't actually be dissolved until the Judge signs the Judgment and it gets entered into the record.

Somebody (likely an attorney for a party) would have to prepare and submit that Judgment and a Notice of Entry of Judgment to the Court, for those things to be accomplished.

In order to ensure that a Judgment accurately sets forth the terms of an oral (or written) settlement agreement, the Judgment should contain the signatures of the parties reflecting that they stipulate or agree to the terms set forth in the Judgment.

It is possible, if the terms of the settlement (Judgment) were read into the record at the MSA and reported by the Court Reporter, that the recitation into the record might suffice for the Court to sign the Judgment without the signatures of the parties, but in my experience, it would be unlikely for the Court to dispense with the requirement for the signatures of the parties, even in that event.

Ask your attorney for a copy of the Judgment and the Notice of Entry of Judgment, even if the Judgment hasn't yet been entered, and ask your attorney to provide you a conformed copy of the Judgment and Notice of Entry of Judgment when they are returned from the Court.

This educational blog is brought to you by DONALD F. CONVISER, a Los Angeles Certified Family Law Specalist, owner of Warner Center Law Offices in Woodland Hills in the San Fernando Valley, an effective and aggressive Los Angeles Divorce Attorney serving clients in the courts of Los Angeles and Ventura County for over 35 years, offering a free confidential consultation regarding your divorce or family law issues, at 818/880-8990, www.conviser.net