How to Amend a Divorce Petition Written By Sandra McCarthy Founder, A People’s Choice Sometimes after you file divorce, you discover you need to change or correct your Petition for Dissolution of Marriage. Usually, you must amend a divorce petition because there was a mistake in the original filing. Sometimes a person amends the petition to change the case from divorce to legal separation or vis versa. This is not unusual, but it is important you handle the process correctly. Fortunately, you usually don’t need a lawyer to amend a divorce petition. A People’s Choice can help you throughout your divorce process, even if you need to make changes. Read on to learn more about how to amend a divorce petition. What our Clients Say... “I thought I could save money and file my own divorce paperwork. The court clerks offer no assistance whatsoever! The best advice I can give is to call A People’s Choice first. They typed up my paperwork and my divorce was final in two weeks! 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You will get outstanding service at an affordable price. “Sharon B. “Overwhelmed with my divorce, custody and child support paperwork, A Peoples Choice made everything so much easier and really put my mind at ease. I couldn’t be happier with their assistance and it really made all the process speed up for me. Thank you so much for all your help.” Samantha R. “Divorce is usually never pleasant but A People’s Choice made it much easier than it would have been if we tried to do the divorce paperwork on our own. They were very quick to respond to us and always took the time to answer all of our questions thoroughly, in addition to quickly. I would highly recommend them for handling divorce paperwork.” Susan Z. “A People’s Choice helped me with my QDRO. They were very professional and very honest. They saved me a lot of money by having them do all the paperwork. There was no hidden fees. I would recommend A People’s Choice for any of your needs. They are very knowledgeable in what they do. Thank you A People’s Choice for all your help!” Debra H. “So glad I found this company to handle my divorce. They were very professional and detail oriented, answering all of my (many) questions and kept me informed. They handled everything for me from hundreds of miles away and made it pretty seamless. The pricing was in the exact range we were looking for. Very honest company and great to work with!” Jessica J. “A People’s Choice is extremely customer orientated and friendly. Their service was fast and reliable. in the future, should I need their services again, I will not hesitate to call them. All e-mails were answered with either a phone call or e-mail sometimes even late at night“ Tar Get help to Amend a Divorce Petition! AMEND MY DIVORCE PETITION…or continue reading the article below to learn more about how to amend a divorce petition. Why Amend a Divorce Petition In order to file for divorce in California, a spouse must file a Petition for Dissolution of Marriage. Sometimes, you may have to modify the information in the petition. For example, you may need to change the petition because of an incorrect date of separation or date of marriage. On the other hand, you may need to change details about community or separate property, debts, child custody and visitation or support. In all of these cases, you might need to amend your petition. However, not all cases require the same forms. That is where A People’s Choice can help. For example, if the parties cannot agree on the division of community property, you may need to amend it to include FL-160, Community and Quasi-Community Property Declaration. This amendment allows a spouse to make specific requests to the court on how to divide the property. You might also need an amendment if you simply made a mistake on the original filing. How to Amend Your Divorce Petition A petitioner has the right to file an amended petition one time without asking for court permission. In other words, if you have already filed for divorce in California, you can amend your petition by filling out another FL-100 form. Of course, when you fill out the form, you must check the “AMENDED” box in the heading section of the petition on the first page. Next, address the details in the form. The amended Petition will revise all information in the original Petition that was wrong or requires change. For example, you may have originally included separate property in your list of community property assets. As an illustration, if you listed separate property items as community property on the original petition, simply remove and reclassify those items. On the other hand, If an incorrect date of marriage was on the form, change it to the correct date. If you are modifying the type of custody you want, mark the correct box to reflect the new details. Finally, you must file your amended petition with the court. Keep in mind, you must also complete a new Summons on Amended Petition. After you file the amended documents, you must serve your amended petition on your spouse. As with the original Petition, get the help of someone 18 years or older and not a party to the case to serve the papers. Amending a Divorce Petition by Motion Have you filed an amended Petition previously? If so, and you need to change it again, you must ask the court for permission before you can file a second Petition amendment. This request is formally made by preparing a motion. The court will also set a hearing on your motion. In the event you must file this type of motion, amending a divorce petition becomes a bit more complicated. Don’t worry though. A People’s Choice has helped many people file these types of proceedings. Keeping the Process Simple If your divorce petition has a mistake, or you need to change or make additional requests to the court, contact us to amend your divorce petition. Keep in mind, at A People’s Choice, we can help amend a divorce petition as well as complete your divorce process for a flat fee. If you need to file a motion to amend a divorce petition, we can prepare the documents and set the hearing, We can even help you serve your spouse with the amended papers. A People’s Choice offers full-service divorce document preparation. In other words, we prepare all the forms you need to complete your California divorce and include complimentary case management help. If you and your spouse agree, we can prepare a marital settlement agreement for you both to sign. Help is just a phone call away. Call us today at 805-648-5540. Get help with your Legal documents today! A People’s Choice can save you hundreds of dollars by preparing your legal documents instead of an expensive attorney! GET STARTED!Was this article helpful? We would love to know your thoughts! If you found this article helpful, please check the LIKE button below. Your feedback helps us plan topics for future articles. By Sandra McCarthy|July 8th, 2019|Family Law|2 Comments