California family law cases run on strict clocks, and the California family law deadlines that matter most to you begin the moment a petition is filed: automatic restrictions take effect without a hearing, the respondent has 30 days to answer, both spouses have 60 days to exchange financial disclosures, the marriage cannot legally end for at least six months, and any appeal must be filed within 60 to 180 days of judgment. Miss one of these dates and you can lose property rights, the chance to present evidence, or the case itself.
Restrictions That Start the Day the Case Is Filed
Before you think about any filing date, know this: automatic temporary restraining orders (ATROs) printed on the summons bind the petitioner the instant the case is filed and bind the respondent the instant they are served.1California Legislative Information. California Code Family Code 2040 There is no hearing, no warning, and no grace period.
While the ATROs are in force, neither spouse may:
- Remove the children from California or apply for new passports for them without the other spouse’s written consent or a court order.
- Transfer, hide, or dispose of community, quasi-community, or separate property outside the usual course of business or the necessities of life.
- Cancel, cash out, or change beneficiaries on life, health, auto, or disability insurance that benefits either spouse or the children.
- Modify nonprobate transfers such as living trust provisions or retirement-account beneficiary designations.
Each spouse must also give the other at least five business days’ notice before any extraordinary expenditure, and account for it to the court later.2California Courts. Form FL-110 Summons The orders stay in place until the case is dismissed, a judgment is entered, or the court orders otherwise. Violations can bring sanctions, and courts will sometimes unwind the transaction.
The 30-Day Response Deadline
Once personally served with the summons and petition, the respondent has 30 days to file a Response (Form FL-120).3California Courts. Learn Your Options Weekends and holidays count. The clock starts the day after service.
Miss it, and the petitioner can ask the court to enter a default. A default lets the court end the marriage, divide property, assign debts, and order support based on what the petitioner requested. The respondent cannot present evidence, call witnesses, or contest the terms. Most people hurt by this deadline assumed they had more time or thought a conversation with their spouse counted as a response. It does not.
Setting Aside a Default
If the deadline has passed, you may still have an opening. The court can set aside a default caused by mistake, inadvertence, surprise, or excusable neglect, but the request has to be filed within six months after the default or default judgment was entered.4California Legislative Information. California Code of Civil Procedure 473 That six-month limit is hard. If your attorney caused the default and submits a sworn statement admitting fault, the court is generally required to grant relief, but the six-month window still applies. After it closes, undoing a default becomes far harder.
The 60-Day Financial Disclosure Deadlines
Both spouses must exchange detailed financial information at two points in the case. Skipping or delaying these disclosures is one of the fastest ways to draw sanctions or have a judgment thrown out later.
Preliminary Declaration of Disclosure
The petitioner must serve a Preliminary Declaration of Disclosure (PDD) either with the petition or within 60 days of filing it. The respondent has the same 60-day window, measured from the date the response is filed.5California Legislative Information. California Code FAM 2104 The deadlines can be extended by written agreement or court order. The PDD covers every asset, debt, income source, and expense, whether community or separate. It is served on the other party; only the proof of service goes to the court.
The PDD requirement cannot be waived. Even mutual agreement to skip it will not fly.
Final Declaration of Disclosure
A Final Declaration of Disclosure (FDD) must be served before or when the parties sign any settlement agreement on property or support, or no later than 45 days before the first trial date.6California Legislative Information. California Code Family Code 2105 Unlike the PDD, both spouses can waive the FDD by signing a stipulation under penalty of perjury confirming they have already met their disclosure obligations. Most settled cases use that waiver.
What Noncompliance Costs
A party who fails to disclose faces monetary sanctions and can be barred from presenting evidence on undisclosed assets or debts. In serious cases the court can set aside the entire judgment, or just the tainted portions, treating the failure as a fraud on the court and the other spouse.6California Legislative Information. California Code Family Code 2105 A motion to set aside based on disclosure failures must be filed within one year of discovering the problem.7California Legislative Information. California Code Family Code 2122
Service Deadlines for Hearings and Motions
Either spouse can ask the court for temporary orders on custody, visitation, support, or attorney fees by filing a Request for Order (RFO). These deadlines are measured in court days, not calendar days, which trips up even experienced litigants.
The moving spouse must have the RFO personally served at least 16 court days before the hearing. Court days exclude weekends and court holidays, so 16 court days generally works out to three or four calendar weeks.8California Courts. Serve Your Request for Order in Person If service is by mail, add five calendar days when both ends are in California, ten days if one is out of state, and twenty days if one is outside the country.9California Legislative Information. California Code of Civil Procedure 1005
The responding spouse must file a Responsive Declaration and serve it at least nine court days before the hearing. Reply papers must be served at least five court days before the hearing.9California Legislative Information. California Code of Civil Procedure 1005 Missing these dates usually will not cancel the hearing. It typically means the court refuses to consider your papers, leaving you to argue against the other side’s written evidence with nothing of your own on the record.
Mandatory Custody Mediation Before the Hearing
When custody or visitation is contested, the court must send the issue to mediation before any hearing on it.10California Legislative Information. California Code Family Code 3170 Mediation is usually scheduled before or on the same day as the court date, and failing to participate can delay the hearing or leave the judge without the mediator’s recommendation.11California Courts. What to Expect From Family Court Mediation Scheduling varies by county, and some courts require an orientation session beforehand. Mediation is not optional, and you cannot go straight to a judge on contested custody.
The Six-Month Waiting Period
No California divorce can become final until at least six months have passed from the earlier of the date the respondent was served or the date the respondent first appeared in the case.12California Legislative Information. California Code Family Code 2339 Because the statute requires the six months to expire, the earliest termination date is the day after the six-month anniversary, which is why this is commonly called a “six months and one day” waiting period.
The waiting period only controls when the marriage legally ends. You can resolve property, custody, and support and submit judgment paperwork before the six months run; the judgment will simply specify a termination date on or after the waiting period expires. The court can extend the period for good cause.13California Legislative Information. California Code FAM 2339
Deadlines After Judgment
A signed judgment does not end the deadlines. Several time limits apply to anyone who wants to challenge, reconsider, modify, or appeal.
Set-Aside Grounds and Time Limits
California provides specific grounds and windows for undoing all or part of a family law judgment:
- Fraud: one year from when you discovered, or should have discovered, the fraud.
- Perjury in disclosures: one year from discovery or when you should have discovered it.
- Duress: two years from entry of judgment.
- Mental incapacity: two years from entry of judgment.
- Mistake, for stipulated or uncontested judgments: one year from entry of judgment.
- Failure to make required disclosures: one year from discovery or when you should have discovered the failure.
These are the exclusive grounds and deadlines.7California Legislative Information. California Code Family Code 2122 Once the window closes, the judgment stands regardless of how unfair it feels.
Motions for Reconsideration
For temporary orders made during the case, a party can ask the same judge to reconsider. The motion must be filed within 10 days after you are served with written notice of entry of the order, not 10 days from when the order was made.14California Legislative Information. California Code of Civil Procedure 1008 It must be based on new or different facts, circumstances, or law. Restating your original arguments more forcefully will not satisfy that requirement.
Appeals
The deadline to appeal cannot be extended. A notice of appeal must be filed by the earliest of:
- 60 days after the court clerk serves a Notice of Entry of judgment or a file-endorsed copy of the judgment.
- 60 days after any party serves you with a Notice of Entry or a file-endorsed copy, with proof of service.
- 180 days after judgment is entered, if nobody serves any notice at all.
Whichever date comes first controls.15Judicial Branch of California. Rule 8.104 – Time to Appeal Orders dividing marital property are final and can be challenged only through this appeal or through the set-aside grounds above. Custody, visitation, and support orders can be modified later on a showing of changed circumstances, but that is a new motion, not an appeal.
Two Dates Outside the Family Code That Still Matter
Two timing issues fall outside the Family Code but can reshape the financial outcome of a divorce.
December 31 and Your Tax Filing Status
The IRS determines filing status based on whether you are married or divorced on December 31 of the tax year. If the divorce is final by that date, you file as single (or head of household if you qualify). If the judgment has not terminated the marriage by December 31, the IRS treats you as married for the entire year.16Internal Revenue Service. Filing Taxes After Divorce or Separation Combined with the six-month waiting period, the date you file the petition can dictate your filing status for the year. Couples finalizing in late fall run into this regularly.
The 10-Year Marriage Mark for Social Security
If the marriage lasted at least 10 years before the divorce became final, you may qualify to collect Social Security benefits on your ex-spouse’s earnings record.17Social Security Administration. More Info – If You Had a Prior Marriage It does not reduce your ex-spouse’s benefits. But if the divorce is finalized at nine years and eleven months, the eligibility is lost permanently. For marriages close to that mark, the timing of the final judgment is worth weighing before rushing to close the case.