State Of California Divorce Records

By Barry Pann

Looking up Texas Divorce Records at government departments in general will be a challenge to most of us but trying to find a Divorce Record in California at their Office of Vital Records will be a test of character in black-belt proportions. Those who have tried are likely to opine that if you are able to persist with them, you are either a really tough cookie or you are just not aware of any other means.

In 2007, day-to-day operations at the former California Department of Health Services (CHDS) were reorganized under two new departments namely the Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) and the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) purportedly to better serve the community. Public records went under the charge of the CDPH. This service is offered through their Vital Records Office which reports into the Certificate and Licenses Unit.

California is one of the four states which do not keep track of the number of divorces within the state. The other three are Colorado, Indiana and Louisiana. In regard to providing divorce records, the Office of Vital Records in Sacramento, California can only issue a Certificate of Record - and only for divorces that occurred between 1962 and June 1984. More detailed information on Free Online Divorce Records can only be obtained at the actual county offices where the divorces were filed and granted.

A Certificate of Record includes the names of the parties to the divorce, the county where the divorce was filed and the court case number. It is not equivalent to a divorce decree and does not indicate whether the divorce was ever finalized in court. The basic processing fee for each certificate is $13 and the processing time can easily exceed 6 months. Requestors are often advised to submit their requests directly to the County Recorder's Office in the county where the divorce was filed.

The main document in Divorce Records Texas is the divorce decree. Information from end to end of the divorce process can be found in the divorce decree although the decree is mainly for officially stating the court ruling in the settlement of assets, alimony and child support, custody and visitation matters if any. In California, all divorces will be issued with a California Divorce Decree by the County Superior Court when the divorce is granted. These decrees can be requested again in the future but they are only available at the very county office where the divorce took place.

Texas Divorce Records are also known as Records of Marriage Dissolution. Marriage and divorce records invariably appear side by side in a search whether the search is primarily for one or the other. They are often merged as Marriage and Divorce Records, in both government and commercial databases. Many states require a certified copy of Divorce Records detailing the proper dissolution of previous marriages when divorcees apply for Marriage License to re-marry. California is one such state.

California population is 36 million strong. Given that some County Divorce Records date back hundred over years, it's reasonable to speculate that there are millions of Divorce Records in California. Scouring divorce records county by county is obviously not practical. Luckily, there are plenty of commercial Divorce Records Search providers around nowadays. Unlike government agencies, their databases are generally cross-linked and they also have access to proprietary sources. - 30299

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