A joinder is a set of family law documents that are related to property division commonly in divorce or legal separation cases in the Santa Barbara Family Law Courts. The documents more specifically identify pension, retirement and other similar types of accounts that are part of a property division settlement or judgment. These documents are not always required in family law cases, but are common when one or both parties had some form of retirement accounts during the marriage or domestic partnership. The joinder documents can be filed before the property order, with the property order, and in many cases, it is done well after the order in preceding a Qualified Domestic Relations Order (QDRO), pronounced “Quad-Dro”.
The good news is that in Santa Barbara County Family Law Courts, there is no filing fee for a joinder and the related documents. Once those are prepared, you can take them to the court and at the clerk’s filing window in the family law department, they will almost always file and issue the joinder summons on the spot, no charge.
Now aside from the joinder, there may be some fees associated with a family law case and joinder process. Most common may be serving the joinder after it is processed by the court. Since the court does not serve or notify on family law cases in Santa Barbara, the person who filed the documents is responsible to have those joinder documents filed on the account holder/plan administrator/benefits department. Because most of these account holders are not located in Santa Barbara, and maybe not even in the State of California, a process server may be your best option. Average price for a process server for these can vary but typically between $50-$80. If you are lucky enough to have your plan administrator is your employer, or they are located in Santa Barbara, you can find a local process server here. They will usually include filing your proof of service at the court, but always check what exactly is included in their price. Most of these servers will know, but make sure they are using the joinder, or equivalent proof of service form. The California Courts joinder proof of service is found on page 2 of the Summons – Joinder, here is a link.
Important note, joinders must be filed inside of your already open family law case in Santa Barbara., meaning you must have an open case to file these documents. If you already have an open case, business as usual, but if you are planning to open a case and doing research know that all family law cases in Santa Barbara have a filing fee, also referred to as a “First Appearance Fee”. Currently, first appearance fee in Santa Barbara Family Law is $435.00. If you are researching divorce or legal separations, you have probably found this already. If you are low income or receive some governmental assistance, you can complete a request for court fee waiver (FW-001) and if the court grants it, no filing fee. But to confirm, this fee is not associated with a joinder, but just a requirement to have an open family law to file your joinder into.
Other fees in your joinder process. If you do not feel comfortable completing the joinder documents either a local legal document assistant or family law attorney are familiar with these. Attorneys will cost more, but if you already have an attorney for your family law case it will likely be a part of their service. If you are “IN PRO PER”, representing yourself, a Legal Document Assistant (commonly referred to as paralegals) can offer the preparation, and probably the filing for a low flat rate. If your family law case is in Santa Barbara, find a legal document assistanthere or if you are wanting legal advice before you start, divorce attorneys here.
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