California Divorce Process from Divorce Petition to the Final Judgment

Filing for divorce starts a court case. It does not end your marriage, set a custody schedule, or decide who keeps the house or other assets. Those things come later, through agreements, court orders, and a final judgment.

Filing and serving the divorce petition

One spouse starts by filing a petition with the superior court. That spouse is the petitioner. The other is the respondent. The petition tells the court what the petitioner is asking for, such as divorce, custody orders, child and spousal support, or division of property. You do not need your spouse's agreement to file.

The petitioner then has the summons and petition served on the respondent under the service rules. Filing alone is not enough. The court needs proof that the other spouse received proper notice.

The summons also contains automatic restrictions called Standard Family Law Restraining Orders, that apply as the case begins. Among other things, they limit certain transfers of property, changes to insurance, and taking the children out of California without the required consent or a court order.

Responding to divorce papers

The respondent generally has 30 days after service to file a response. A response lets the court know the respondent's position. If you were served, read the summons and note the date of service. Do not procrastinate. You need to file a proper response and that is not something that just gets put together at the last minute. You should seek the advice of a lawyer immediately to tell you what boxes to check and what information to include.

If the respondent does not respond on time, the petitioner can ask the court to enter a default. The default can shut a respondent out of the process so they do not have a voice in it. The petitioner still has to submit the required judgment papers and prove the grounds for divorce.

Sometimes spouses agree on everything even though one does not file a response. This is called a default with agreement. That leads to an agreed judgment through the proper default procedure. If both spouses participate and settle, they can submit a written agreement for the court to review.

Getting temporary orders while the case is open

A divorce can take many months or even one or more years. Families still need a plan for bills, parenting time, and housing during that period. Either spouse can ask the court for temporary orders. There are a lot of different temporary orders available. A judge can temporarily decide issues such as child custody, child support, spousal support, attorney's fees and even taking control of a business.

Attorney's fees are a common temporary order if there is a lack of access or ability to pay by one spouse when compared to the other spouse. "Need based attorney's fees" can help a spouse who lacks access to funds hire a lawyer while the case is pending. The court looks at the spouses' finances and ability to pay. In a case with complex or substantial issues, a spouse may also ask the court to figure out expert costs. A forensic accountant who analyzes business records, helps determine income or traces money as part of separate property or other claims is a common example. The judge still has to decide whether the request and amount are justified.

Temporary does not mean unimportant. The schedule a family follows for months can shape daily life while the case moves forward. That is why there has to be care in what to request and how to request it.

How does a domestic violence restraining order fit into a divorce process?

A spouse who has faced abuse can ask the court for a domestic violence restraining order while the divorce is pending. The request describes what happened and asks for specific protection. Abuse can include threats, harassment, and conduct that disturbs a person's peace to the point of destroying their emotional calm, coercive control and more. It is not only physical injury. The court may issue a temporary order based on the requesting person's testimony. The other party must receive notice for the later hearing, where both sides can present evidence and the judge decides whether to issue an order after hearing.

A protective order can affect contact between spouses, where someone lives, and arrangements for the children. A finding of domestic violence within the previous five years triggers a rule called the Family Code section 3044 presumption when the person found to have committed the abuse seeks custody. The court starts with the presumption that giving that person sole or joint legal or physical custody would harm the child's best interests. The person can try to overcome it, but the judge must apply the statute's factors. An allegation alone does not establish the presumption. Domestic violence can affect spousal support too.

Exchanging financial information

Both spouses generally must exchange a preliminary declaration of disclosure. This is a formal account of assets, debts, and income. The petitioner usually serves it with the petition or within 60 days after filing. The respondent usually serves it with the response or within 60 days after filing a response. The law allows some extensions and exceptions. The disclosures provide information on income and expenses, real property, account statements, retirements, tax returns, mortgage records, business records, and other assets and debts.

Disclosure does not end when the first forms go out. Each spouse must promptly update the other if material information changes, including income, an asset's value, or a debt. That duty continues while the property or support issue remains unresolved and, for some property matters, until the asset or debt is distributed.

The law also provides for final declarations of disclosure before resolving property or support issues or before trial. When spouses settle everything, they commonly sign a mutual waiver of the formal final declarations. The waiver is allowed only if they have exchanged preliminary disclosures and current income and expense information and have fully updated material financial facts. It does not waive the duty to disclose. Waiving final disclosures can be a bad idea if an asset's value, a business's income, or a debt remains unclear. Even with a full settlement in reach, exchanging final disclosures can give both spouses a better basis to sign.

Settlement, hearings, and trial

Many spouses settle without a trial. They may discuss an agreement directly, through lawyers, or with a mediator. An agreement needs to cover the issues that apply to their family, including property and debt division, support, and a parenting plan if they have children.

The spouses do not have to settle everything at once. They can agree on some issues, ask the court to put that partial agreement into a judgment or order where appropriate, and take to a trial the issues they still dispute. For example, they might resolve property division but need a trial on support. The written judgment (often called a partial judgment) should say exactly what is resolved and what the court still needs to decide. The court can also end marital status separately while other issues remain, but that requires a specific request and protections for rights affected by early termination.

As a case heads toward divorce trial, the court may schedule several different conferences. At a trial setting conference, the court identifies the issues left for trial and may set a date or deadlines. A trial readiness conference checks whether the parties have completed the work needed to try the case, including witness and exhibit preparation. A mandatory settlement conference gives the parties another chance to resolve some or all disputes, often with help from a judge or settlement officer. These conferences are not the trial, although the court expects the parties to arrive prepared. The name of the hearing, required paperwork, attendance rules, and deadlines depend heavily on the county's local rules and the judge's orders. Check the notice and local rules rather than assuming another county's process applies. California's statewide case resolution rule also allows courts to schedule conferences to move cases toward judgment.

Getting the final divorce judgment

The final judgment is the court's order ending the marriage and resolving the issues it addresses. In a settled case, the spouses submit the proposed judgment and required forms for court review. After a trial, the judgment must reflect the court's decisions. Before the court enters a judgment dividing property, the parties generally must complete the required disclosure process or qualify for an exception or valid waiver.

California has a minimum six month wait before a divorce can become final. The clock starts when the summons and petition are served or when the respondent appears in the case, whichever happens first.

Read the filed judgment and its notice of entry before you assume you are divorced. Check the date your marital status ends and make sure the written orders match what you understood about parenting time, support, and property. Some orders require follow-up work, such as transferring title or dividing a retirement account. A judgment does not make those practical tasks happen by itself.

The divorce process in California is more complicated than most people realize. Having an experienced and smart lawyer who has the time to dedicate to your case can save you time, money and help you avoid mistakes along the way.

Frequently Asked Questions About the California Divorce Process

Do we have to appear in court if we agree on everything?

Not always. The court can review the required paperwork without a hearing, but it may require an appearance in some circumstances. An agreement still needs a judgment from the court to complete the divorce. Family Code section 2336 explains this in more detail.

What if my spouse refuses to provide preliminary disclosures?

First, you must have served your own preliminary disclosures. After that, your attorney should send a written notice to your spouse's attorney to serve disclosures, whether the entire set was not produced or missing information if an incomplete set of disclosures was produced. The notice explains what is missing and asks your spouse to provide it by a certain deadline. This is often called meeting and conferring: an attempt to resolve the problem before asking the judge to step in. If your spouse still refuses, your attorney should discuss with you the option to file a motion to compel, asking the court to order your spouse to comply. The court may also order the noncomplying spouse to pay attorney's fees and costs. This process is explained in Family Code section 2107.

Can I ask my spouse for answers to questions or additional documents during the divorce process?

Yes. There are two ways to do it. The informal way is for your attorney to send a letter to your spouse's attorney with a list of information requested. You and your spouse have a duty of ongoing disclosure, and it is inappropriate for your spouse to refuse to provide information that is relevant to the divorce case including income, expenses, as well as community or separate property assets and debts.

There is also a formal process called discovery. Your attorney can send written questions that your spouse must answer under oath. Your attorney can also request documents, including financial records or electronically stored information, that are relevant to the case. There are several other methods of discovery including issuing subpoenas, taking depositions and more. Discovery has rules about what you can request and how the other person responds. It gives you a way to seek information beyond the required financial disclosures.

Whether you should use an informal, formal or dual process depends on your specific situation.