To divorce an inmate in California, you file the same no-fault petition any other spouse would file, then adjust three things: how you locate your spouse, how the papers get served inside the facility, and how disclosures and support are handled given the realities of prison. The filing fee runs $435 to $450, and no divorce can be finalized until at least six months after your spouse is served.1California Legislative Information. California Code Family Code 2339 You do not need your spouse’s cooperation, and you do not need to mention the incarceration anywhere in the paperwork.
Can You File in California
California will hear your case only if at least one spouse has lived in the state for six continuous months and in the filing county for the three months immediately before filing.2California Legislative Information. California Code FAM 2320 – Residence Requirements If you recently moved counties, either wait until you hit three months or file in your previous county.
California recognizes two grounds for divorce: irreconcilable differences and permanent legal incapacity to make decisions.3California Legislative Information. California Code FAM 2310 – Grounds for Dissolution or Legal Separation Almost everyone picks irreconcilable differences. The conviction, the sentence, the underlying crime — none of it needs to appear in the petition. You state the marriage has broken down, and the court accepts it.
Finding Your Spouse and Their CDCR Number
Before you file anything, pin down your spouse’s full legal name, their CDCR number, and the exact facility where they are housed. All of this is searchable through the California Incarcerated Records and Information Search (CIRIS), which also shows admission date and other identifying details.4CA.gov. California Incarcerated Records and Information Search If you can’t find them in the database, call the CDCR Identification Unit at (916) 445-6713.5California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. California Incarcerated Records and Information Search
If your spouse is in federal custody rather than state prison, use the Federal Bureau of Prisons inmate locator at bop.gov, which covers federal inmates from 1982 forward.6Federal Bureau of Prisons. Find an Inmate County jails post their own search tools on the sheriff’s department website.
Filing the Petition and Summons
Two forms open the case. The Petition (FL-100) asks for basic information about the marriage and requires you to spell out what you want on custody, child support, spousal support, and division of community property and debts.7Judicial Council of California. FL-100 Petition – Marriage/Domestic Partnership (Family Law) The Summons (FL-110) tells your spouse the case is filed and starts their 30-day response clock.8Judicial Council of California. FL-110 Summons (Family Law)
Take the completed forms to the Superior Court clerk in your county. The filing fee is $435 to $450 depending on the court. If you can’t afford it, request a waiver on form FW-001, available to people on public benefits, with low income, or unable to meet both basic needs and court costs.9California Courts. Request to Waive Court Fees One wrinkle: if your incarcerated spouse later files a response, prisoners may be required to pay the full filing fee even when they’d otherwise qualify for a waiver.10Judicial Council of California. Information Sheet on Waiver of Superior Court Fees and Costs
Think carefully about what you ask for on the FL-100. If your spouse never responds and you take a default, you can only receive what you originally requested. Omit spousal support or a specific property claim and you cannot add it in later.
Serving the Papers Inside the Facility
You cannot hand the papers to your spouse yourself. California requires personal service of the summons and petition, meaning a third party must deliver them. When the other spouse is incarcerated, the California Courts direct you to contact the facility, because a prison or jail official typically acts as the server.11California Courts. Serve Your Divorce Papers Call the institution, ask who handles legal service of process, and find out how to deliver the documents to that person. For CDCR facilities you’ll need the inmate’s CDC number.
A county sheriff or professional process server is also an option in some situations, though getting an outside server inside a state prison adds delays.12California Courts. Serving Court Papers Whoever makes the delivery must complete the Proof of Service of Summons (FL-115) with the date, place, and method.13Judicial Council of California. Proof of Service of Summons File that form with the clerk. Without it, the court has no proof of notice and the case cannot move.
Automatic Restraining Orders Both of You Must Follow
The moment you file and your spouse is served, automatic temporary restraining orders (ATROs) take effect on both of you. They’re printed right on the summons. Under Family Code section 2040, neither of you can move children out of state, transfer or dispose of community or separate property outside ordinary living expenses, change beneficiaries or coverage on insurance policies, or alter nonprobate transfers without the other’s written consent or a court order.14California Legislative Information. California Code Family Code FAM 2040 These orders bind you from the filing date and your spouse from the service date, and they remain in force until the judgment is entered.
The Financial Disclosures People Miss
This step derails more divorces than any other. California requires both spouses to exchange preliminary declarations of disclosure before a judge will grant the divorce. You must serve yours either with the petition or within 60 days of filing it.15California Legislative Information. California Code FAM 2104 – Preliminary Declaration of Disclosure
The package has three parts: the Declaration of Disclosure (FL-140), the Schedule of Assets and Debts (FL-142) listing every asset and liability you have or may have an interest in, and the Income and Expense Declaration (FL-150). You do not file these with the court. You mail them to your spouse at the facility, then file a Declaration Regarding Service of Declaration of Disclosure (FL-141) with the court to prove the exchange happened. Leave an asset off, by accident or on purpose, and a judge can reopen the property division later and award the hidden asset to your spouse.15California Legislative Information. California Code FAM 2104 – Preliminary Declaration of Disclosure
An incarcerated spouse who responds owes the same disclosures. For the income section, they can substitute a printout of their inmate trust account in place of pay stubs.
What Happens If Your Spouse Doesn’t Respond
Once served, your spouse has 30 calendar days to file a Response (FL-120).8Judicial Council of California. FL-110 Summons (Family Law) If they do, the case moves ahead as a contested or negotiated divorce and you work out property, support, and custody through agreement or a hearing. If you both agree on terms, you can sign a written settlement and submit it with the judgment.
If no response arrives in 30 days, you can request a default by filing form FL-165 (Request to Enter Default) and FL-170 (Declaration for Default or Uncontested Dissolution). The court then proceeds without your spouse. You must also have filed your FL-141 showing the disclosure exchange is complete before the clerk will accept default paperwork.16California Courts. How to Finish Your Divorce in a Default Default is the most common path when the other spouse is incarcerated and uninterested in contesting anything.
Custody, Support, and Property Issues Specific to an Incarcerated Spouse
Custody and Visitation
Incarceration by itself does not strip a parent of custody or visitation rights. California courts decide custody on the child’s best interests, weighing the sentence length, the nature of the offense, and the parent’s history with the child. In practice the non-incarcerated parent almost always gets sole physical custody during the sentence, but the imprisoned parent can still hold legal custody and have contact through calls, video visits, or letters depending on the facility.
One exception matters. If the court finds a parent committed domestic violence within the past five years, a presumption applies against awarding that parent sole or joint custody, and the burden shifts to that parent to overcome it.17California Legislative Information. California Code Family Code FAM 3044 Convictions for assault against the other parent, criminal threats, or stalking all trigger it. Whatever you want the court to order on custody, put it in the FL-100.
Child Support
A court can still order child support against an incarcerated parent, but the number will reflect prison wages. Under Family Code section 4058, incarceration cannot be treated as voluntary unemployment when the court sets or modifies support.18California Legislative Information. California Code Family Code FAM 4058 The judge will not pretend your spouse earns a normal salary. Support is based on what they actually earn, which in CDCR facilities is often pennies per hour, so the order can be as low as a few dollars per month. An existing pre-incarceration order does not pause automatically, and arrears can accumulate and become enforceable on release unless the inmate requests a modification.
Community Property and Debts
California is a community property state, so assets and debts acquired during the marriage are generally divided equally, with each spouse keeping their separate property. If you can’t agree, the judge decides. Retirement and pension benefits earned by your spouse before incarceration are commonly overlooked and can carry significant community property value; sorting them out often requires specialized orders, and the court’s self-help center or an attorney is worth consulting if any are in play. Debts are also divided, though not always 50/50 — the judge can consider each spouse’s ability to pay, which may push a larger share of community debt onto the non-incarcerated spouse when the other has no realistic means to contribute.
How Your Spouse Can Take Part From Inside
An incarcerated spouse who wants to engage has options. They can file a written FL-120 response by mail, propose settlement terms through letters, and sign documents using notary services at the facility, though mobile notary visits require advance coordination with staff for security clearance. For hearings, incarcerated parties can request to appear remotely by video or telephone, and many California courts now allow this in family law matters, though the court keeps discretion to require physical presence. If the incarcerated spouse does nothing, the case proceeds without them.
Finalizing the Divorce
No California divorce can be final until at least six months have passed from the date your spouse was served or first appeared, whichever came first.1California Legislative Information. California Code Family Code 2339 The six-month wait is mandatory. You can submit the paperwork before then, but the judgment will carry a future effective date.
To close the case you file the Judgment (FL-180) and the Notice of Entry of Judgment (FL-190).19Judicial Council of California. Judgment (Family Law) In a default you also need the FL-165 and FL-170, plus any attachments for property division (FL-345) or spousal support (FL-343) that fit your case. Once the judge signs, the clerk mails the FL-190 to you and to your spouse at the facility. The FL-190 carries the effective date of the dissolution, and neither of you can remarry until that date passes.20Judicial Council of California. California Form FL-190 – Notice of Entry of Judgment