# Am I divorced now? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 2, 2009, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-divorced-now/491719 "2009-04-02T16:11:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Typo\_Negative](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/typo_negative/32/484_2.png) [@Typo\_Negative](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Typo_Negative)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2009, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-divorced-now/491719/1 "2009-04-02T16:11:36Z")
My wife and I are divorcing. She filed the paperwork. I signed what was asked. In January, I received a ‘Notice of Entry of Judgement’ form the LA Superior Court. (Los Angeles) This is from a box on the document. " **Statement in the box applies only to Judgement of Disolution** Effective date of termination of marital or domestic partnership status (specify) 03/31/2009 **WARNING: Neither party may remarry or enter into a new domestic partnership until the effective date of the termination of marital or domestic partnership status, as shown in the box**. " Is that it? Do I have to wait for another docuemtn from the court or is this all there is? ---
**Author:** ![DSYoungEsq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c6cbf5/32.png) [@DSYoungEsq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSYoungEsq)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2009, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-divorced-now/491719/2 "2009-04-02T17:00:31Z")
I’d have to check my own, but that should be it. You’ve been notified that the judgment has been entered, and the time has passed to make it final. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2009, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-divorced-now/491719/3 "2009-04-02T17:06:19Z")
> [@spooje](#): > > Is that it? Do I have to wait for another docuemtn from the court or is this all there is? You have been divorced for two days. Congratulations. I think. Most judgments aren’t immediately final. You get a specified length of time to appeal or object. Assuming you wife hasn’t objected or appealed - you’d have to check the docket of the specific CA court - you’re divorced. ---
**Author:** ![Sigmagirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c89c15/32.png) [@Sigmagirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigmagirl)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2009, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-divorced-now/491719/4 "2009-04-02T17:10:03Z")
Now you can change your Location field. ---
**Author:** ![Keeve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/f07891/32.png) [@Keeve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Keeve)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2009, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-divorced-now/491719/5 "2009-04-02T17:22:17Z")
I hope this doesn’t sound too snarky or whatever. Not having gotten divorced myself, there are many things about the process that I’m not familiar with. That said, I do understand that many people ask legal questions here because they don’t have a lawyer, or don’t want to pay a lawyer. But if you got divorced, don’t you already have someone to ask these questions to? Is there a do-it-yourself method that’s so cheap that we are your only source of advice? ---
**Author:** ![Typo\_Negative](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/typo_negative/32/484_2.png) [@Typo\_Negative](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Typo_Negative)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2009, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-divorced-now/491719/6 "2009-04-02T17:27:22Z")
> [@Keeve](#): > > I hope this doesn’t sound too snarky or whatever. Not having gotten divorced myself, there are many things about the process that I’m not familiar with. > > That said, I do understand that many people ask legal questions here because they don’t have a lawyer, or don’t want to pay a lawyer. But if you got divorced, don’t you already have someone to ask these questions to? Is there a do-it-yourself method that’s so cheap that we are your only source of advice? We, or rather she, went to ‘We the People’. This is a place that prepares the forms for you and tells you what to do. But they are not attorneys. This is an option for divorces that are not contested. ---
**Author:** ![Keeve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/f07891/32.png) [@Keeve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Keeve)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2009, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-divorced-now/491719/7 "2009-04-02T17:33:37Z")
Thanks. I’ve heard comercials for similar outfits, and their disclaimers that they don’t give legal advice. Didn’t realize they took it to such an extreme, but I guess they have to. ---
**Author:** ![Gfactor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9de053/32.png) [@Gfactor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gfactor)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2009, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-divorced-now/491719/8 "2009-04-02T17:42:29Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > Most judgments aren’t immediately final. You get a specified length of time to appeal or object. Assuming you wife hasn’t objected or appealed - you’d have to check the docket of the specific CA court - you’re divorced. Not quite right. Most judgments are final once they are entered. Civil money judgments are often subject to a brief “automatic stay,” during which the plaintiff cannot execute the judgment. [Rule 62. Stay of Proceedings to Enforce a Judgment | Federal Rules of Civil Procedure | US Law | LII / Legal Information Institute](http://www.law.cornell.edu/rules/frcp/Rule62.htm) But judgments are usually final upon entry unless they leave part of the case undecided. [Rule 54. Judgment; Costs | Federal Rules of Civil Procedure | US Law | LII / Legal Information Institute](http://www.law.cornell.edu/rules/frcp/Rule54.htm) They are appealable for a time, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t final. Regarding divorce judgments in California, the court system’s website says: > [@](#): > > When will the court process be over? > The court process is over when: > > ``` > * The clerk returns your filed Judgment, > * You have the Judgment served on your spouse or domestic partner, and > * Your Judgment has a stamp in the upper right corner and the judge's name is stamped on the line for judge's signature. > > ``` > > Save your copy of the Judgment so that you can show how and when your marital status ended (for divorces). > > If there are minor children and your case was uncontested, your Judgment also includes your child custody, visitation, and support orders. [Site Has Moved](http://www.courtinfo.ca.gov/selfhelp/family/divorce/step5.htm#over) ---
**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2009, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-divorced-now/491719/9 "2009-04-02T17:44:33Z")
My husband’s divorce was one-sided. She never hired a lawyer and never showed up in court. Done and done. They sent her papers telling her they were no longer married. ---
**Author:** ![racer72](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/racer72/32/3075_2.png) [@racer72](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/racer72)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2009, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-divorced-now/491719/10 "2009-04-03T00:21:29Z")
> [@Kalhoun](#): > > My husband’s divorce was one-sided. She never hired a lawyer and never showed up in court. Done and done. They sent her papers telling her they were no longer married. I just filed on the 3rd of March. Hopefully mine works out the same. ---
**Author:** ![Mesmurized](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/aeb1de/32.png) [@Mesmurized](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mesmurized)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2009, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-divorced-now/491719/11 "2009-04-18T02:48:22Z")
> [@Gfactor](#): > > Not quite right. Most judgments are final once they are entered. Civil money judgments are often subject to a brief “automatic stay,” during which the plaintiff cannot execute the judgment. [Rule 62. Stay of Proceedings to Enforce a Judgment | Federal Rules of Civil Procedure | US Law | LII / Legal Information Institute](http://www.law.cornell.edu/rules/frcp/Rule62.htm) But judgments are usually final upon entry unless they leave part of the case undecided. [Rule 54. Judgment; Costs | Federal Rules of Civil Procedure | US Law | LII / Legal Information Institute](http://www.law.cornell.edu/rules/frcp/Rule54.htm) They are appealable for a time, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t final. > > Regarding divorce judgments in California, the court system’s website says: > > [Site Has Moved](http://www.courtinfo.ca.gov/selfhelp/family/divorce/step5.htm#over) I just received the signed, dated, and filed Judgment _ **and** _ Notice of Entry of Judgment. Am I done??? … or … is this part still required “_ **have the Judgment served on your spouse or domestic partner** _” ? as stated in “_[Site Has Moved](http://www.courtinfo.ca.gov/selfhelp/family/divorce/step5.htm#over)_”. The Notice of Entry of Judgment includes a court clerk mailing to both of us. ---
**Author:** ![Gfactor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9de053/32.png) [@Gfactor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gfactor)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2009, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-divorced-now/491719/12 "2009-04-18T02:52:45Z")
> [@Mesmurized](#): > > I just received the signed, dated, and filed Judgment _ **and** _ Notice of Entry of Judgment. Am I done??? … or … is this part still required “_ **have the Judgment served on your spouse or domestic partner** _” ? as stated in “_[Site Has Moved](http://www.courtinfo.ca.gov/selfhelp/family/divorce/step5.htm#over)_”. The Notice of Entry of Judgment includes a court clerk mailing to both of us. In this case, you are the “spouse or domestic partner” who needed to be served because your ex got the judgment entered. So it looks to me like you are done. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2009, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-divorced-now/491719/13 "2009-04-18T02:53:28Z")
Now, how about a beer? ---
**Author:** ![Mesmurized](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/aeb1de/32.png) [@Mesmurized](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mesmurized)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2009, 3:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-divorced-now/491719/14 "2009-04-18T03:47:09Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > Now, how about a beer? Great idea. Think I’ll have 2 :)😃