I have been living separated from my wife since one year ago, what do I need to do to file a divorce?

Your best bet is to hire a lawyer to start the process. Starting the process involved filing the appropriate forms, getting your wife served and then doing a series of additional things to exchange information and eventually finalize things by an agreement or a trial. If you can't hire a lawyer you should either go to the self-help center in either downtown Los Angeles or at the superior court in Santa Monica to get some assistance in starting the process yourself. They will not give you legal advice. They will only direct you to the right forms. You can also purchase the Nolo Press guide to California divorce. Under most circumstances where there are minor children and a house it is EXTREMELY unwise to try to do this without an attorney; however, ifyou review the Nolo Press book or go to the self-help center, that might give you some ideas of information you will need to best work with a lawyer as well.

You have a lot of issues here that will ultimately effect you financially: date of separation, credits for payment for community property home since date of separation, children for whom child support will be requested, custody and visitation with those children, division of property. This is a big case for an attorney to take on, and as the previous poster said you would be wise to seek counsel of an attorney who has taken these cases through trial and knows the glitches and potholes and how to avoid them. Stephanie White THE LAW OFFICE OF STEPHANIE WHITE Simi Valley, CA www.805Lawyer.com DISCLAIMER: The above is not legal advice nor does it establish an attorney-client relationship with the person posting the question or any person reading the above. There is no attorney-client relationship between any reader and this writer or her firm. These comments are not subject to any privilege protections. They are neither privileged nor confidential. The information is general only and should not be relied upon in any specific case. Accordingly these comments cannot be relied upon as the law and the facts may differ from those with which the reader of this communication may be dealing. The following disclosure is required pursuant to IRS Circular 230: unless otherwise expressly indicated, any federal tax advice contained in this communication, including attachments and enclosures, is not intended or written to be used, and may not be used, for the purpose of (i) avoiding tax-related penalties under the Internal Revenue Code or (ii) promoting, marketing or recommending to another party any tax-related matters addressed herein.