Family law in California covers divorce, legal separation, child custody and visitation, child and spousal support, property division, parentage, domestic violence protection, and the dissolution of registered domestic partnerships. These cases are heard in the Superior Court under the California Family Code. Two features shape almost every case: California is a no-fault state, so no one has to prove wrongdoing to end a marriage, and it is a community property state, so most of what either spouse earns or acquires during the marriage belongs equally to both.
Filing for Divorce in California
To file for divorce, at least one spouse must have lived in California for the past six months and in the filing county for the past three.1California Courts. Fill Out Your Divorce Forms There is one narrow exception: if a same-sex marriage took place in California but neither spouse now lives somewhere that will dissolve it, the couple can file in the California county where they married.2California Legislative Information. California Code FAM 2320 – Residency Requirements for Dissolution
The filing fee is $435, set by statute and the same in every county.3Superior Court of California, County of Los Angeles. 2026 Fee Schedule You can ask for a fee waiver, and you qualify automatically if you receive Medi-Cal, CalFresh, SSI, or CalWORKs. The court will also consider a waiver if your income is too low to cover basic household costs.4Judicial Council of California. Information Sheet on Waiver of Superior Court Fees and Costs
The only ground you need is irreconcilable differences, meaning the marriage has broken down and cannot be repaired. A second ground, permanent incapacity to make decisions, is rarely used.5California Legislative Information. California Code FAM 2310 – Grounds for Dissolution Neither spouse has to prove the other did anything wrong.
Even after you file, your marriage cannot legally end for at least six months. The clock starts on the date your spouse is served or first appears, whichever comes first.6California Legislative Information. California Code FAM 2339 – Waiting Period for Dissolution You can resolve custody, support, and property during that window, but the court cannot restore you to single status until it expires.
Summary Dissolution
Some couples qualify for a faster, simpler process called summary dissolution. Both spouses file jointly, service is not required, and if no one revokes the petition within six months, the case ends automatically when the waiting period runs. Every one of these conditions must be met:
- No children were born or adopted during the marriage, and neither spouse is pregnant.
- The marriage lasted five years or less, measured from the wedding date to the date of separation.
- Neither spouse owns any real estate interest, other than a lease on the home that expires within a year of filing.
- Debts incurred during the marriage, excluding car loans, total no more than $4,000.
- Community property is worth under $25,000 (excluding cars and debts), and neither spouse has more than $25,000 in separate property assets on the same basis.
- Both spouses waive any right to spousal support.
The dollar thresholds are adjusted periodically for cost of living, so verify the current figures before relying on them.7California Legislative Information. California Code Family Code 2400 – Summary Dissolution Requirements
Why the Date of Separation Matters So Much
Few dates carry more financial weight than the date of separation. It marks the end of the community property period. Anything you earn or buy after that date is generally your separate property, and any debts you take on are yours alone. A difference of a few months can shift tens of thousands of dollars between spouses.
California defines the date of separation as the day a complete and final break in the marital relationship occurred. Two things must be true: one spouse communicated the intent to end the marriage, and that spouse’s conduct was consistent with that intent.8California Legislative Information. California Code FAM 70 – Date of Separation Privately thinking about divorce does not count. Courts look at the full picture: whether you kept sharing finances, kept living together, kept presenting as a couple. Keep records.
Dividing Property and Debts
Everything either spouse acquires during the marriage while living in California is community property, regardless of whose name is on the paycheck or title.9California Legislative Information. California Code FAM 760 – Community Property Defined That covers wages, real estate, investment accounts, business interests, and retirement contributions between the wedding and the date of separation.
Separate property stays with the spouse who owns it. Three things qualify: property owned before the marriage, property received during the marriage by gift or inheritance, and income generated by separate property.10California Legislative Information. California Code FAM 770 – Separate Property of a Married Person The hard part is that these categories mix. If you used inheritance money for a down payment but paid the mortgage with community income, you may have to trace the separate contribution to keep it from being divided.
If the case goes to trial, the court must divide the community estate equally. A true 50/50 split.11California Legislative Information. California Code FAM 2550 – Equal Division of Community Estate The judge can split individual assets, offset one against another, or order a sale. Marital debts are divided the same way. Spouses can agree to an unequal split in a written settlement, but without that agreement, the court cannot give either side more than half.
Spouses also owe each other a fiduciary duty regarding community property. Hiding, wasting, or secretly transferring assets can trigger penalties, including awarding the harmed spouse a larger share of what is left. A claim for breach must be brought within three years of discovering the wrongful transaction.12California Legislative Information. California Code FAM 1101 – Breach of Fiduciary Duty
Retirement accounts get special treatment. The community interest in a pension, 401(k), IRA, or public employee plan is the portion earned during the marriage, and the court must ensure each spouse receives their full share, including survivor and death benefits.13California Legislative Information. California Code Family Code 2610 – Retirement Plan Division Dividing most employer plans requires a separate court order (a Qualified Domestic Relations Order) directing the plan administrator to pay the non-employee spouse. Public plans like CalPERS and CalSTRS have their own forms and procedures.
Child Custody and Visitation
Every custody and visitation decision answers one question: what arrangement is in the best interest of the child? The child’s health, safety, and welfare take priority. Courts weigh each parent’s history with the child, any documented abuse, and any pattern of substance abuse.14California Legislative Information. California Code FAM 3011 – Best Interests of the Child State policy encourages frequent and continuing contact with both parents, but that preference always yields to safety.15California Legislative Information. California Code FAM 3020 – Legislative Findings and Declarations on Custody
Custody has two parts. Legal custody is the right to make major decisions about health, education, and welfare. Physical custody determines where the child lives. Either can go to one parent solely or to both jointly. Joint physical custody does not have to mean a 50/50 schedule; it means significant time with each parent.
Mandatory Mediation
Before any contested custody or visitation hearing, the case must go to mediation.16California Legislative Information. California Code FAM 3170 – Mediation of Contested Custody Issues In most counties, this takes the form of Child Custody Recommending Counseling, where the mediator can send a written recommendation to the judge if the parents do not agree.17Judicial Council of California. Guidelines for Child Custody Recommending Counseling In the remaining counties, mediation is confidential and the mediator does not report. Either way, the judge sets the final plan.
Domestic Violence Changes the Analysis
If a court finds that a parent committed domestic violence within the past five years, a rebuttable presumption applies: awarding that parent sole or joint custody is presumed to be detrimental to the child. The parent can overcome the presumption by a preponderance of the evidence, which typically means completing a batterer’s program, any court-ordered substance abuse counseling, and a parenting class, among other factors.18California Legislative Information. California Code FAM 3044 – Presumption Against Custody for Domestic Violence The general preference for frequent contact with both parents cannot override this presumption.
Child Support
Child support follows a mandatory statewide formula. Every county uses it, and judges have limited room to deviate. The formula takes each parent’s net monthly disposable income and the percentage of time each has physical custody, then applies a multiplier based on combined income.19California Legislative Information. California Code FAM 4055 – Statewide Uniform Guideline Child Support Formula For two children, the base is multiplied by 1.6; for three, 2.0; and so on.
Net disposable income is not gross pay. The formula backs out income taxes, health insurance premiums, mandatory retirement contributions, union dues, and work-related childcare costs. Judicial Council–approved calculators can estimate your guideline amount, though the court sets the final figure.20Judicial Branch of California. Guideline Support Calculators
Falling behind has real consequences. Once arrears pass $2,500, the state can certify the case to the federal government for passport denial.21Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 42 USC 652 – Duties of Secretary California can also intercept tax refunds, suspend driver’s and professional licenses, and garnish wages.
Spousal Support
Spousal support, sometimes called alimony, closes the financial gap between spouses after separation. Temporary and long-term support work differently.
Temporary support runs while the divorce is pending and is designed to preserve the status quo. Most counties use a local formula based on each spouse’s income, similar in concept to the child support guideline. It ends at final judgment.
Long-term support has no formula. The court weighs statutory factors: each spouse’s earning capacity and marketable skills, the marital standard of living, the length of the marriage, each spouse’s age and health, and whether one spouse delayed a career to support the other. The court also considers documented domestic violence, tax consequences, and the balance of hardships.22California Legislative Information. California Code FAM 4320 – Factors for Spousal Support
A common misconception is that spousal support is permanent. For marriages under ten years, the general expectation is support for about half the length of the marriage, giving the supported spouse time to become self-supporting. For marriages of ten years or more, California presumes the marriage is of long duration, and the court retains jurisdiction over support indefinitely.23California Legislative Information. California Code FAM 4336 – Retention of Jurisdiction for Long-Duration Marriages Indefinite jurisdiction is not indefinite payment. It means the court can revisit the order based on changed circumstances, including terminating it.
Domestic Violence Restraining Orders
Anyone experiencing domestic abuse can petition for a Domestic Violence Restraining Order, with no residency requirement. The court can issue the order the same day, without the other party present, based on the petitioner’s sworn statement showing reasonable proof of past abuse.24California Legislative Information. California Code Family Code 6300 – Issuance of Protective Orders
A DVRO can order the restrained person to stop all contact, stay a specified distance away, move out of a shared home, and surrender firearms. The court can also grant temporary custody of children and exclusive care of pets.25California Legislative Information. California Code FAM 6320 – Orders Included in Domestic Violence Restraining Order A temporary ex parte order usually lasts about three weeks until a full hearing. At that hearing, both sides present evidence, and the court decides whether to issue a longer order lasting up to five years, which can be renewed.
Establishing Parentage for Unmarried Parents
If parents are not married, no legal parent-child relationship exists automatically on the father’s side. Parentage has to be established before a court can order custody, visitation, or support. The simplest route is signing a Voluntary Declaration of Parentage, which can happen at the hospital or any time after. The other route is a court action.
California also recognizes several presumptions of parentage. A spouse of the birth mother at the time of birth is presumed to be a parent. So is someone who takes the child into their home and openly holds the child out as their own, or who appears on the birth certificate with their consent.26California Legislative Information. California Code FAM 7611 – Presumption of Parentage A child can also have more than two legal parents when the court finds that recognizing only two would harm the child.
Registered Domestic Partnerships
Registered domestic partners have the same rights, obligations, and procedures as spouses for dissolution, property division, custody, and support. The Family Code rules that govern divorce apply the same way, and the superior court has jurisdiction.27California Legislative Information. California Code FAM 299 – Dissolution of Domestic Partnerships One useful difference: a partnership registered in California can be dissolved in California courts even if neither partner currently lives in the state. Couples who are both married and in a registered domestic partnership can dissolve both in a single proceeding.
Taxes After Divorce
Divorce changes your tax picture. For any divorce finalized after December 31, 2018, alimony is neither deductible by the paying spouse nor taxable to the receiving spouse.28Internal Revenue Service. Divorce or Separation May Have an Effect on Taxes California follows the same rule on state returns.29Franchise Tax Board. Alimony If you are negotiating support, factor in that the payor gets no tax benefit.
Which parent claims a child as a dependent is another common question. Federally, the custodial parent, meaning the parent the child lives with for more than half the year, is generally entitled to head-of-household filing status, the child tax credit, the dependent care credit, and the Earned Income Tax Credit. The custodial parent can sign a written release allowing the noncustodial parent to claim the child tax credit and the dependency exemption, but the custodial parent keeps head-of-household status and the EITC regardless of any agreement.30Internal Revenue Service. Divorced and Separated Parents