Process Serving - California

Author: David G. Hallstrom, Sr.

Section 415.20 (b) of the California Civil Code Of Procedure
States: If a copy of the summons and complaint cannot with
reasonable diligence be personally delivered to the person to be
served, as specified in Section 416.60, 416.70, 416.80, or
416.90, a summons may be served by leaving a copy of the summons
and complaint at the person's dwelling house, usual place of
abode, usual place of business, or usual mailing address other
than a United States Postal Service post office box, in the
presence of a competent member of the household or a person
apparently in charge of his or her office, place of business, or
usual mailing address other than a United States Postal Service
post office box, at least 18 years of age, who shall be informed
of the contents thereof, and by thereafter mailing a copy of the
summons and of the complaint by first-class mail, postage
prepaid to the person to be served at the place where a copy of
the summons and complaint were left. Service of a summons in
this manner is deemed complete on the 10th day after the mailing.

Most process servers understand dwelling house or usual
place of abode to mean the actual place where the person is
currently staying. It has, however, been our experience that
this means the official residence or place where the
person is currently staying. We have found that most courts
consider the dwelling house to be where the person is currently
staying and the usual place of abode to mean the persons
permanent residence, ie: the person lives with his parents but
is currently away at school. The persons dwelling house would be
where he is currently staying while in school and his usual
place of abode would be his parents house where he returns on
vacations and when school is on break and where he expects to
return when he finishes school. The same applies if the person
is currently in the hospital, away on a business trip or is on a
vacation.

Usual place of business can mean different things. Say a
person works every day in a factory on 8th St., that of course
would be a usual place of business. Say a Doctor is on staff and
shows up for work regularly at ABC Hospital. He also rents
office space from a doctor's group at another location where he
also sees paitents. It has been our experience that both places
could be considered the Doctors usual place of business.

Usual mailing address other than a United States Postal
Service post office box. Usual mailing address can be a private
mail box service or any other place (Other than a U.S Post
Office branch.) that the subject uses as a mailing address. This
does not mean that the person must actually pick up or receive
the mail. It only means that the person must use the address as
a mailing address. Some people in order to evade creditors or
others give out mailing addresses but never pick up the mail. If
a person directs people to send that person's mail to a certain
address then that address can be considered a usual place of
mailing as the server would have no way of verifying that the
mail is actually picked up.

Competent member of the household does not mean family
member. It means anyone who resides at that residence, including
full time live in nannys, maids, gardeners, friends, etc.. As
long as the person resides ther full time they can be considered
members of the household.

Person apparently in charge does not mean, as some
process servers believe, a manager or officer of the business or
place of mailing. It means "the person apparently in charge. If,
at an office, the receptionist will not let the process server
see anyone else in the office, then the receptionist is the
highest person in charge that the server can serve. If the only
person who works at a mail box service says that he or she is
only a clerk, that person is still the person apparently in
charge.

Serving a complaint in a gated community or security
building where the security guard will not allow entrance.
On May 28, 1992, in the case of Robert Bein vs Bechtel-Jochim,
the California Court Of Appeals held that a guard gate
does constitute part of the dwelling and therefore the
guard is a competent member within the dwelling. The court
reasoned that if a process server is not permitted to proceed to
the actual residence, then the outer bounds of the actual
dwelling place must be deemed to extend to the location at which
the process server's progress is arrested.

Reasonable diligence has been interpreted differently in
different jurisdictions, however, we have found that if three
attempts are made at least eight hours apart and if at least two
of those attempts are made at the address wher the papers are
served then a substituted service on the fourth attempt is
usually considered valid.

The foregoing information is not given as legal advice. It is
instead given as information and opinion gathered and developed
through experience over the last thirty years. David Hallstrom
is the owner of Hallstrom Detective Agency and although the
agency no longer offers process serving services, it has,
through it's servers, completed service of several hundred
thousand legal documents. Although the author believes the
information to be accurate no guarantee is made or implied.

Permission is given to reprint this article providing credit is
given to the author, David G. Hallstrom, and a link is listed to
Resources For
Attorneys the owner of this article. Anyone or any company
reprinting this article without giving proper credit and the
correct link, is doing so without permission

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/law-articles/process-serving-california-1730.html

About the Author
David G. Hallstrom, Sr. is a retired private investigator and
currently publishes several internet directories including http://www.resourcesforattorneys.com a
legal and lifestyle resources directory for attorneys, lawyers
and the internet public.

Chapter 7 of the Bankruptcy Code is used when a trustee, to pay off a holder's claims, sells the debtor's nonexempt assets. Some of the property may have liens against it or be within the bounds of a mortgage; if that is the case, the proceeds from that will have to go to those creditors rather than the ones with alternate claims. Additionally, the debtor may keep some exempt property; but the trustee will likely liquidate all assets, and the debtor will undoubtedly lose some property. And since no repayment plan will be filed as in chapter 13, none will be gotten back.

To file for chapter 7 you must meet certain requirements: As the individual, partnership, corporation or business entity filing, you must not have had a petition for bankruptcy dismissed within the 180 days prior due to willful failure to appear in court or comply with court orders. You also must not have voluntarily dismissed a case in which creditors asked the court to recover property that had liens on it. Finally you must have sought credit counseling within 180 days prior to filing, from an approved credit counselor or group.

Despite these limitations, there are no bounds on the amount of debt you are in or any requirements surrounding your solvency as the debtor. And as always there are emergency situations in which exceptions will be made, as well as cases where a U.S. trustee will determine credit counseling could not be sought for lack of funds and waive that portion of the requirements.

As a final stipulation, it should be noted that while individuals, corporations and partnerships can file for chapter 7, only individuals will receive a discharge of debt. Further, the right to a discharge is not absolute and will depend on the circumstances surrounding the case as well as the varying types of debt. A lien on a property, for example, will not be discharged.

If you find you are not eligible for chapter seven there are alternatives to this portion of the Bankruptcy Code. To avoid liquidation, debtors in business can file under chapter 11, in which the debtor seeks an adjustment of debts either by reducing the debt or extending the time for repayment. The debtor may also develop a more comprehensive reorganization plan.

Those not in business may file under chapter 13. Through this chapter, the debtor may avoid home foreclosure and may have more success in courts, as some courts will dismiss chapter 7 petitions if the debt stems primarily from consumer purchases.

As in all cases, an out of court agreement between the debtor and the creditor may also be a simpler and more beneficial way to reduce, reorganize or remove debt.

Before filing for bankruptcy under any chapter, it is important that you are fully aware of your options, as well as the results of each petition. You must remain fully informed throughout the process so as to reach the solution that most benefits you and eradicate as much, if not all, of the debt as possible.

For more information on chapter 7, visit http://www.uscourts.gov/bankruptcycourts/bankruptcybasics/chapter7.html

Chapter 7 of the Bankruptcy Code is used when a trustee, to pay off a holder's claims, sells the debtor's nonexempt assets. Some of the property may have liens against it or be within the bounds of a mortgage; if that is the case, the proceeds from that will have to go to those creditors rather than the ones with alternate claims. Additionally, the debtor may keep some exempt property; but the trustee will likely liquidate all assets, and the debtor will undoubtedly lose some property. And since no repayment plan will be filed as in chapter 13, none will be gotten back.

To file for chapter 7 you must meet certain requirements: As the individual, partnership, corporation or business entity filing, you must not have had a petition for bankruptcy dismissed within the 180 days prior due to willful failure to appear in court or comply with court orders. You also must not have voluntarily dismissed a case in which creditors asked the court to recover property that had liens on it. Finally you must have sought credit counseling within 180 days prior to filing, from an approved credit counselor or group.

Despite these limitations, there are no bounds on the amount of debt you are in or any requirements surrounding your solvency as the debtor. And as always there are emergency situations in which exceptions will be made, as well as cases where a U.S. trustee will determine credit counseling could not be sought for lack of funds and waive that portion of the requirements.

As a final stipulation, it should be noted that while individuals, corporations and partnerships can file for chapter 7, only individuals will receive a discharge of debt. Further, the right to a discharge is not absolute and will depend on the circumstances surrounding the case as well as the varying types of debt. A lien on a property, for example, will not be discharged.

If you find you are not eligible for chapter seven there are alternatives to this portion of the Bankruptcy Code. To avoid liquidation, debtors in business can file under chapter 11, in which the debtor seeks an adjustment of debts either by reducing the debt or extending the time for repayment. The debtor may also develop a more comprehensive reorganization plan.

Those not in business may file under chapter 13. Through this chapter, the debtor may avoid home foreclosure and may have more success in courts, as some courts will dismiss chapter 7 petitions if the debt stems primarily from consumer purchases.

As in all cases, an out of court agreement between the debtor and the creditor may also be a simpler and more beneficial way to reduce, reorganize or remove debt.

Before filing for bankruptcy under any chapter, it is important that you are fully aware of your options, as well as the results of each petition. You must remain fully informed throughout the process so as to reach the solution that most benefits you and eradicate as much, if not all, of the debt as possible.

For more information on chapter 7, visit http://www.uscourts.gov/bankruptcycourts/bankruptcybasics/chapter7.html

There are many circumstances that cause financial problems. Losing your job, having an adjustable-rate mortgage, going through a divorce, taking out payday loans, unforeseen medical bills, and credit cards with high interest can create a financial mess. Without any fault of your own, these things can lead to financial disaster and cause you to lose your home and cars. However, doing nothing will not solve your situation. The bankruptcy code was created to help people get relief on debt that they can't afford while allowing you to keep your house and cars. Bankruptcy will get you a fresh start and control over your financial situation.

If your debts are overwhelming and your income is insufficient to make the payments that you need to make in this situation is not likely to change in the near future, it is time to look into whether there are any alternative strategies before accepting that the time may have come to file for bankruptcy. If everything else fails, be assured that bankruptcy used to have all sorts of social ramifications and carry a stigma of failure in years gone by, it is now accepted by most everyone. Bankruptcy is often due to nothing more than bad luck or bad judgment or just a combination of the two together with lousy timing. After all it can happen to anyone especially in today's worldwide economic downturn.

Chapter 7 bankruptcy is a process provided for under United States federal law. Chapters 7 wipes out most unsecured debt and gives you a fresh start. Some common debts that are wiped out in a Chapter 7 are credit cards, medical bills, and deficiencies on repossessed vehicles. Filing for bankruptcy puts into effect something called the automatic stay. The automatic stay immediately stops your creditors from trying to collect what you owed them. So, at least temporarily, creditors cannot legally garnish your wages, empty your bank account, go after your car, house or other property. It is not necessary to hire a bankruptcy attorney when filing chapter 7, because most people can learn how to file bankruptcy themselves.

While you may not need an attorney to file bankruptcy, there are two requirements that cannot be ignored. Once you have consulted with a reliable credit counseling agency, you may have a better understanding of how to start your bankruptcy through the US court system and comply with federally mandated requirements. Debtors must then gather information on each creditor, including outstanding bills and the current status of each account. Federal and state income tax returns, employee payroll stubs, full financial disclosures, and documentation of vehicles and mortgage loans are also needed. Once the data has been collected, you should find an online bankruptcy service that uses software to create and print out all the forms required for filing in your state. After finding a good bankruptcy service and paying, follow the instructions and prompts, being careful to provide accurate figures and answers. Even though consumers file bankruptcy online, they are expected to pay a filing fee, which is determined by the state. Do-it-yourself bankruptcy software can make a tedious task quick and easy.

Individuals who have amassed large debts have many options. However, if an individual finds that non-bankruptcy alternatives are not feasible, a decision then must be then made between filing a Chapter 7 liquidation proceeding or a debt adjustment proceeding under Chapter 13.

A Chapter 7 bankruptcy filing is best described as obtaining a discharge from debts (with some exceptions) while retaining some assets such as a home, household goods and an automobile as long as they do not exceed certain values determined by the U.S. Bankruptcy Code. Chapter 7 is consider a "liquidation" decision however if filed correctly and using the Bankruptcy Code to the best of your ability some assets can be retained while crushing debt is removed.

To be eligible to file a Chapter 7 bankruptcy the filer has to reside or be domiciled in the United States. In addition, they can not have been a debtor in a bankruptcy case in the 180 day period prior to filing the current bankruptcy case; they must receive counseling from an approved nonprofit budget and credit counseling agency prior to the filing and pass the "median family income" test. In order to receive a discharge in a Chapter 7 an individual may not have received a Chapter 7 bankruptcy discharge in the previous eight years or a Chapter 13 discharge in the previous six years.

The element which will fully determine if you can file a Chapter 7, is the "median family income" level. The individual or couple must review income made within the previous six months and average it out. If when the average income is measured against the "median family income" as stated in 11 U.S.C.