California Divorce

Understanding California Divorce Laws

California divorce laws are designed to end the marriage and decide important issues like child custody and support, alimony, property division, and attorney's fees.

To file for divorce in California, either you or your spouse must have lived in:

• California for the last six months, AND
• The county where you plan to file the divorce for the last three months.

If you and your spouse have lived in California for at least six months, but in different counties for at least three months, you can file in either county.

Faster and Cheaper Divorces

Thoughtful planning can save you time, money, and headaches. Before you file for a divorce, think about how you are going to handle it. You should do research on the Internet to learn more and also consult with an attorney.

Uncontested Divorces

“Summary Dissolution” is the term the California divorce courts use to describe a uncontested divorce when both spouses agree on all terms, have no children, and were married for less than five years. When you file for a summary dissolution, you won't have to talk to a judge and you may not need to hire a lawyer.

You may also obtain a quick and easy divorce if your spouse fails to file a response in the case (defaults). Most uncontested cases can be handled with the spouses filing papers by mail.

California Divorce Proceedings

The Petition

A contested divorce (where both spouses cannot agree on the terms) begins with the Petition telling the court and your spouse that you want to end the marriage. The Petition also describes what you are asking for, such as child custody, visitation, support, property division, and attorney's fees.

The Response

After a Petition is served, the other spouse is entitled to file opposing papers. If you are served with a Petition, you must file your opposing papers within 30 days of signing an Acknowledgement of Receipt which is attached to the Petition. If you do not file a Response, you will lose the right to present your side to the court.

Temporary Orders

Temporary orders set the rules while the case is pending. Either party can ask the court to make temporary orders stating, for example, who stays in the house, who is responsible for the children, and who pays which bills.

Discovery

Each spouse is entitled to information from the other about the case. The legal procedures for obtaining that information are called discovery. Discovery may include formal discovery conducted by attorneys through written questions, requests, and depositions. However, it is often more efficient and less expensive to exchange documents informally than to send and respond to interrogatories, requests for production, depositions, subpoenas, and motions.

Trial

If your divorce case cannot be settled, it will go to trial. Each spouse will get to tell their story through testimony and documents.

Alternative Dispute Resolution

Other methods of resolving your case include mediation and arbitration.

In mediation, the parties meet with an impartial individual for the purpose of helping them reach an agreement.

In arbitration, the spouses may agree to submit their disputes to an arbitrator, an impartial person chosen to decide the issues. While mediation results in an agreement between the spouses, arbitration results in the arbitrator's decision incorporated into a formal court judgment.

Property Division

California divorce laws recognize that both spouses make valuable contributions to any marriage regardless of their employment. Most property will be labeled either "community property" or "separate property."

Community Property

All property, in or out of the state, that either spouse acquired during the marriage is community property. Each spouse owns one-half of all community property. It does not matter if only one spouse worked outside of the home during the marriage or if this property is in only one spouse's name.

Generally, debts incurred during the marriage are community obligations. This includes credit card bills, even if the credit card is in your name only. Student loans are an important exception because they are considered separate property debts. Community property possessions and community property debts are divided equally unless both spouses agree to an unequal division in writing. If spouses can't agree on the division of debts and possessions, a judge will make that decision.

Separate Property

Separate property is property acquired before marriage, property received after the date of your separation, inheritances, and gifts to you alone. Separate property is not divided in the divorce.

Debts incurred before getting married or incurred after separating from your spouse are your separate property debts. You will be required to file proof that you listed all of your community and separate property on a Preliminary Declaration of Disclosure and that you served this document on your spouse.

Spousal Support

According to California divorce laws, spousal support is the name for alimony. The spouse receiving support must pay taxes on the amount received. The spouse making payments will be entitled to take a tax deduction for the payments.

California’s divorce laws recognize that circumstances can change (such as an illness or the loss of employment). As such, either spouse may ask the judge to "reserve jurisdiction" to order spousal support anytime in the future. This allows either spouse to return to court and request an increase or decrease in spousal support at a later time.

Child Custody

Divorcing parents must have an agreement regarding child custody and visitation. Any plan must be in writing and signed by both parents and a judge.

When parents can't agree who will have custody of the children, the judge will send the parents to Family Court Services to see if they can reach an agreement with the help of a mediator. The mediator will help create a parenting plan that includes legal custody and physical custody/visitation.

If you and the other parent can't agree on everything during the mediation, the judge may ask the mediator to recommend a decision. The judge will often use the mediator’s recommendation as his formal decision.

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