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Divorce in California

In order to get divorced in the state of California, one of the parties must have been a resident of California for not less than six months and a resident of the county where the divorce will be filed for not less than three months. California is a "no-fault" state. The minimum time it takes to obtain a divorce in the state of California is six months from the time the Petition for Dissolution of Marriage is personally served on the other spouse. 

The typical issues that must be resolved in a Divorce case are: (1) Dissolution of the marriage, (2) Child Custody, (3) Child Support, (4) Spousal Support (Alimony), (5) Division of Community Property, and (6) Determination of Separate Property.

Timeline of  An Typical Divorce In California

• The person seeking a divorce (the "Petitioner") files a document with the Court that says why the person wants a divorce and how he or she wants to settle financial, custody, and other issues (the "Petition").
• The Petition and the Summons is personally served on the other spouse.
• The served spouse (the "Respondent") has 30 days in which to file his or her answer (the "Response"). The answer says whether or not the person agrees with the Petition or how the Respsondent would prefer to deal with the divorce issues.
• If either party wants or needs specific issues addressed they must file documents (generally, an "Order to Show Cause") with the Court and serve it on the other spouse. The Court will set a date for a hearing and the other spouse must file a written repsonse and serve it on the asking spouse.
• The couple exchanges documents and other information about issues such as property and income (Preliminary Declarations of Disclosure and other related documents). Exchange of these documents will allow the couple to decide what issues must be litigated and how they wish to decide issues about division of property, determination of separate property, child support, and spousal support.
• The parties can choose to informally resolvve their differences on their own or with the assistance of a mediator or an attorney.
• If the parties are able to reach a settlement, their agreement will be memorialized in writing and Judgment documents will be prepared and filed wiith the Court. In some cases, there may be a hearing where the Judge may ask basic questions about the facts of the case and as to whether each party fully understands and has agreed to enter into the proposed agreement. If the Judge agrees with the proposed agreement, the Judgment will be signed.
• If there is no agreement between the parties, the case will go to trial. At trial, evidence and argument must be presented to support the contentions of each side. A Judge will decide the issues, including child custody and visitation, child and spousal support, property division, and determination of separate property.
• If a party does not agree with the decision of the judge, he or she can file an appeal with a higher court.
• After Judgment has been entered, in some instances, either party can file "post-judgment" motions regarding some of the same initial issues such as child custody, child visitation, spousal support, or enforcement of the initial Judgment.

Remember, the minimum time required to obtain a divorce in California is six months from the date of personally serving the Petition on the other spouse. However, many divorces can take several years.

Child Custody

Parents, whether married or unmarried, who separate or divorce and seek legal custody must have a written plan, approved by the Court, for living arrangements and parenting responsibilities for their children. If the parents cannot agree on a parenting plan, a judge will make the custody and visitation decisions. Judges will often use a family court mediator to provide a recommendation or the Judge may appoint a lawyer ("minor's counsel") to represent the child. Initial custody decisions are determined on the "best interests of the child."

There are two types of custody: (1) Legal Custody and (2) Physical Custody. Legal custody establishes who will make important decisions about the minor in regards to health care, education, religion, etc. Physical custody has to do with who the child will live with.

Child Support

Both parents are required to financially support their child. The amount of child support a non-custodial parent must pay is set by the California Family Code. The guideline is a formula based on the income of each parent, the amount of time a child is cared for by each parent, and other factors. Failure to pay court-ordered child support can result in wage assignments, suspension of a driver's license, garnishment of income tax returns and even incarceration. California has a state-wide system to track and collect court-ordered child support and to locate delinquent parents.

Spousal Support

Generally, when one party is ordered to pay spousal support to the other party, it is ordered for one-half of the duration of the marriage. However, in marriages that lasted over 10 years, a spouse may be eligible for lifetime support depending on the circumstances.

Spousal support is determined by several factors and is at the discretion of the Court based on the facts of the particular case. Judges will take into account factors such as health, age, ability to earn, the ability to pay spousal support, the needs of the parties, the obligations of the parties, and the duration of the marriage.

Community Property

Community property is all property that was acquired during the marriage (except for property acquired by gift or inheritance). Community property can be real property, personal property, businesses, pension plans and other types of bank accounts.  California is a community property state, and as such, all property that was acquired during the during the marriage will be divided equally by the Court. 

Separate Property

Separate property is all property that was owned prior to the date of marriage, inherited, received by gift or acquired after date of separation  is separate property.

  COMPLETE

DIVORCE*

$395

*Uncontested/By Agreement Divorce