Video Transcript
Welcome to FreeDivorce.com.
Christina: This is Christina.
Ed: This is Ed. Today, we are going to talk about how to assemble your divorce judgment. After you have completed your judgment of dissolution form FL-180, it is time to assemble all the parts of the judgment.
Ed: Christina, how do I assemble my divorce judgment if I used the collection of Judicial Council forms the approach to set forth the terms of my divorce settlement agreement?
Christina: The forms you are going to need are the following: You start with your Judgment form, which is FL-180. Then you have to attach to the FL-180 the rest of your Judicial Council forms. At a minimum, that is going to include the “Property Order Attachment To Judgment”, which is FL-345, and the “Spousal, Partner, or Family Support Order Attachment”, which is FL-343. Then, you will also need to attach the “Stipulation For Entry of Judgment” form that has been signed by you and your spouse, with your signatures notarized. As we mentioned in a prior video, the “Stipulation For Entry of Judgment” form is not a Judicial Council form but is a word document that you can find in our Court Forms database.
Ed: What if I have minor children by my marriage, what additional forms do I need to attach to my FL-180 if I am using the Judicial Council forms approach?
Christina: If you have minor children, then you will also need to attach the following forms to your judgment: You are going to need to attach your child custody forms. At a minimum, you will need the “Child Custody And Visitation (Parenting Time) Order Attachment”, which is FL-341. If you also elected to use any of the other Judicial Council child custody forms, such as FL- 341(A), FL-341(B), FL-341(C), 341(D), and/or FL-341(E), then you will want to attach those forms to the FL-180 as well.
Ed: If I have minor children by my marriage and I’m using the Judicial Council forms the approach to set forth my divorce settlement agreement, will I also have to attach child support Judicial Council forms to my FL-180?
Christina: Yes. At a minimum, you will need to attach your “Child Support Information Order Attachment, which is FL-342, together with your “guideline” child support calculation printout, such as DissoMaster. If you and your spouse have agreed to a non-guideline child support amount, then you will also need to attach FL-342(A). Finally, whenever you have child support as part of your divorce settlement, you always need to attach the “Notice of Rights And Responsibilities – Health Care Costs Reimbursement Procedures”, which is FL-192.
Ed: In what sequence or order do I assemble my forms?
Christina: Put your forms in the following order. Start with the FL-180. Then, add the “Stipulation For Entry of Judgment”. Then, add the rest of the forms. It really does not matter what order you assemble the rest of the forms. Most people put their forms in the following order: child custody-related forms; child support-related forms, including the FL-192; spousal support forms, and finally the property division form.
Ed: What if, instead of using the Judicial Council forms approach, I used a Marital Settlement Agreement to set forth the terms of our divorce settlement. How do I assemble my judgment using a Marital Settlement Agreement approach?
Christina: If you are using the Marital Settlement Agreement approach, then you will need the completed Judgment form, which is FL-180, and then attach to the FL-180 the signed Marital Settlement Agreement. As we previously mentioned, your signature and your spouse’s signature on the Marital Settlement Agreement must be notarized.
Ed: If I have minor children by my marriage, do I need to attach any other forms to the FL-180, besides the signed Marital Settlement Agreement?
Christina: Yes. If you have minor children, then your Marital Settlement Agreement will include child support provisions. Whenever a judgment contains child support provisions, you need to attach the “Notice of Rights And Responsibilities – Health Care Costs Reimbursement Procedures”, which is FL-192. Also, as we mentioned in other videos, if your Marital Settlement Agreement includes child support, you will also need to attach a computer printout, such as DissoMaster, showing how the amount of child support was calculated.
Ed: Do I need to attach any other forms to the FL-180?
Christina: For most counties, the answer to that question is, “No”. However, a few counties, even if you have a Marital Settlement Agreement, will insist that you also attach to your judgment the basic child custody Judicial Council form, which is FL-341, and the basic child support Judicial Council form, which is FL-342. In these few counties, you would fill out these two forms so they match the general custody and child support terms of your Marital Settlement Agreement. You can check with the Family Court Facilitator in your particular county to see if the court will require the FL-341 and FL-342 to be attached even if you have a Marital Settlement Agreement or you can just submit your judgment and if you live in one of the few counties that insist on having the FL-341 and FL-342, the court will send the judgment back to you and let you know you have to add these forms.
