To get a divorce in California, one spouse must have lived in the state for six months and in the filing county for three months, then file a petition and summons, formally serve the other spouse, exchange financial disclosures, wait at least six months, and submit a judgment for a judge to sign. California is a no-fault state, so you don’t have to prove wrongdoing. Filing costs $435 in most counties and $450 in Riverside and San Francisco.1Judicial Branch of California. File Divorce Papers
Who Can File in California
Family Code Section 2320 sets the residency rule: at least one spouse must have been a California resident for six continuous months and a resident of the filing county for three months immediately before the petition goes in.2California Legislative Information. California Family Code 2320 – Residence Requirements The statute says “one of the parties,” which means either spouse can be the qualifying resident. The person who files does not have to be the one who meets the time requirements.
If neither of you has been here long enough, legal separation is a workaround. It has no time-based residency requirement, and once you hit the six- and three-month marks you can amend a separation petition into a dissolution petition without starting the case over.3Judicial Branch of California. Legal Separation
Grounds: You Don’t Need a Reason
Family Code Section 2310 recognizes only two grounds for dissolution: irreconcilable differences and permanent legal incapacity to make decisions.4California Legislative Information. California Family Code 2310 – Grounds for Dissolution Almost every California divorce uses irreconcilable differences. You check the box on the petition; you don’t explain what happened, assign blame, or show that counseling failed. The incapacity ground is rare and requires medical proof.
The Short Path: Summary Dissolution
If your marriage was short and your finances are simple, you may qualify for summary dissolution, which skips much of the standard process. Every one of the following has to be true at filing:5Judicial Branch of California. Find Out if You Qualify for Summary Dissolution
- Less than five years from the date of marriage to the date of separation.
- No children born or adopted during the marriage, and neither spouse is pregnant.
- Community property worth less than $57,000 total.
- Each spouse’s separate property worth less than $57,000.
- Joint debts under $7,000, not counting car loans.
- Both spouses agree to waive spousal support.
Qualifying couples file a joint petition rather than one spouse serving the other. If any threshold is exceeded, you’re on the standard track described below.
Step 1: File the Petition and Summons
A standard divorce begins with two forms filed together at the superior court in the qualifying county. The Petition (Form FL-100) is the formal request to dissolve the marriage and covers your legal name, date of marriage, date of separation, any minor children, and what you want the court to decide about custody, support, and property.6Judicial Branch of California. Petition – Marriage/Domestic Partnership (FL-100) The Summons (Form FL-110) notifies your spouse a case exists and triggers automatic restraining orders that bind both of you.7California Courts. Summons (Family Law) FL-110
Those automatic orders matter. From the moment the summons is issued, neither spouse can remove minor children from the state, change insurance beneficiaries, transfer property, or make unusual changes to bank accounts. They last until the case is dismissed or a judgment is entered.
The filing fee is $435 in most counties, $450 in Riverside and San Francisco because of a local courthouse surcharge. If you can’t afford it, submit a Request to Waive Court Fees (Form FW-001) based on income, public benefits, or inability to cover basic needs and court costs at the same time.8California Courts. Request to Waive Court Fees (FW-001)
Step 2: Serve Your Spouse
Once the clerk stamps your paperwork, someone else has to deliver copies to your spouse. You can’t do it yourself. The server must be at least 18 and not a party to the case, meaning a friend, a professional process server, or in some cases the county sheriff.9Judicial Branch of California. Serve Your Divorce Papers Professional servers usually charge between $20 and $100, depending on the area and how hard your spouse is to find.
After delivery, the server completes a Proof of Service of Summons (Form FL-115) with the date, place, and method of service.10Judicial Branch of California. Proof of Service of Summons (FL-115) File this with the court promptly. The six-month waiting clock starts on the date your spouse was served, and your spouse then has 30 calendar days to file a Response (Form FL-120).
If Your Spouse Doesn’t Respond
If 30 days pass without a response, you can move forward by default. Confirm that both your Proof of Service (FL-115) and your Declaration Regarding Service of Declaration of Disclosure (FL-141) are on file, then submit a Request to Enter Default (FL-165).11Judicial Branch of California. How to Finish Your Divorce in a Default Once default is entered, your spouse loses the right to file a response unless a judge grants special permission. You’ll then submit the Declaration for Default or Uncontested Dissolution (FL-170), the Judgment (FL-180), and the Notice of Entry of Judgment (FL-190) together. The final terms follow what you asked for in the original petition. The six-month waiting period still applies.
Step 3: Exchange Financial Disclosures
Both spouses must serve a preliminary declaration of disclosure early in the case, generally within 60 days of the petition being filed. Family Code Section 2104 requires the Declaration of Disclosure (Form FL-140) along with supporting financial documents.12California Legislative Information. California Family Code 2104 – Preliminary Declaration of Disclosure
Two supporting forms do most of the work. The Schedule of Assets and Debts (Form FL-142) is a line-by-line inventory of bank accounts, vehicles, real estate, retirement accounts, credit card balances, and anything else of value.13Judicial Branch of California. Schedule of Assets and Debts (FL-142) The Income and Expense Declaration (Form FL-150) covers monthly earnings, employment details, and regular household costs like rent, groceries, utilities, and transportation.14Judicial Branch of California. Income and Expense Declaration (FL-150) Include copies of tax returns filed in the two years before the disclosure is served.
These disclosures go directly to your spouse, not the court. You file a short declaration (Form FL-141) confirming the exchange happened, which keeps sensitive financial data out of the public record.
Do not skim on honesty here. Family Code Section 2107 lets the court impose sanctions, including attorney’s fees, on a spouse who fails to comply.15California Legislative Information. California Family Code 2107 – Nondisclosure Penalties If a judgment is entered while one party’s disclosures were incomplete, the court can set the entire judgment aside. Where a spouse deliberately hid an account or undervalued property, the other spouse can receive a larger share of the undisclosed asset as a penalty. Judges treat concealment as a breach of fiduciary duty because every dollar of the property division depends on accurate numbers.
Step 4: Divide Property, Debts, and Support
California is a community property state. Family Code Section 2550 requires a 50/50 split of the community estate unless the spouses agree in writing to something different.16California Legislative Information. California Family Code 2550 – Division of Community Estate Community property is essentially anything acquired by either spouse during the marriage, from wages and home equity to retirement contributions and business interests.
Separate property stays with its owner: assets owned before the marriage, gifts to one spouse alone, and inheritances. Tracing is where it gets tricky. If separate money was deposited into a joint account and mixed with community funds, the spouse claiming it as separate carries the burden of proving the original character of those dollars.
Retirement Accounts and QDROs
Retirement benefits earned during the marriage are community property even when the account is in one spouse’s name. Dividing a 401(k), pension, or similar employer-sponsored plan requires a Qualified Domestic Relations Order, or QDRO. That’s a separate court order directed at the plan administrator, and the plan must review and approve it before any money moves.17U.S. Department of Labor. QDROs Under ERISA – A Practical Guide to Dividing Retirement Benefits
A valid QDRO names the participant and the alternate payee, states the dollar amount or percentage being assigned, defines the time period, and identifies each plan involved. It can’t require a plan to pay a benefit type it doesn’t offer or benefits already assigned to someone else. Many couples hire a specialist to draft the document; preparation typically runs $300 to $1,750. IRAs don’t need a QDRO, but they do need a transfer pursuant to the divorce decree to avoid taxes and penalties.
Step 5: The Six-Month Wait and Final Judgment
Family Code Section 2339 sets a mandatory waiting period: no California divorce is final until six months have passed from the date the respondent was served or first appeared in the case, whichever came first.18California Legislative Information. California Family Code 2339 – Waiting Period A court can extend the period for good cause but cannot shorten it. The earliest your marriage can legally end is the day after the six-month mark.
During those months, the spouses work out property division, custody, and support. When everything is resolved, the petitioner submits the Judgment (Form FL-180), which incorporates the final orders on child custody, child support, spousal support, and property division.19Judicial Branch of California. Judgment (FL-180) A judge reviews and signs it. The court then issues a Notice of Entry of Judgment (Form FL-190) stating the date the marriage officially ended.20Judicial Branch of California. Notice of Entry of Judgment (FL-190) Until that date, both parties remain legally married regardless of what paperwork has been signed, which matters for tax filing status, remarriage, and benefits eligibility.
Loose Ends to Handle Before You Finish
Restoring a Former Name
Either spouse can ask the court to restore a prior legal name in the divorce judgment. Indicate this on Form FL-180. Once signed, the certified judgment is your legal authorization to update your driver’s license, Social Security card, and passport. Skip it now and you’ll need a separate name change petition later, with its own forms and fees.
Health Insurance Through COBRA
Divorce is a qualifying event under federal COBRA rules, so a spouse covered under the other’s employer-sponsored plan can elect to keep that coverage temporarily. Either the covered employee or the affected spouse must notify the plan administrator within 60 days of the divorce becoming final.21Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. COBRA Continuation Coverage Questions and Answers COBRA can last up to 36 months for divorce, but you’ll pay the full premium yourself. Missing the 60-day window can permanently forfeit your right to elect coverage.
Taxes on Property Transfers and Alimony
Under 26 U.S.C. Section 1041, no gain or loss is recognized when property is transferred between spouses or to a former spouse as part of the divorce, provided the transfer happens within one year of the divorce or is related to ending the marriage.22Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 1041 – Transfers of Property Between Spouses or Incident to Divorce The recipient inherits the transferor’s original cost basis, so the tax bill is deferred rather than eliminated.
Alimony treatment depends on when the agreement was executed. Pre-2019 agreements: the payer deducts, the recipient reports it as income. Post-2018 agreements: neither.23Internal Revenue Service. Topic No. 452, Alimony and Separate Maintenance A modified pre-2019 agreement can adopt the new rules if the modification specifically says so.
Social Security on an Ex-Spouse’s Record
If your marriage lasted at least 10 years and you are at least 62, you may collect Social Security benefits based on your former spouse’s earnings record. You must also have been divorced for at least two continuous years before claiming.24Social Security Administration. 20 CFR 404.331 – Divorced Spouse Benefits Claiming does not reduce your ex’s benefits or affect a new spouse’s benefits. For shorter marriages this option isn’t available, which is worth knowing before you sign a settlement that may undervalue your share of retirement assets.