If you don’t respond to divorce papers in California, your spouse can ask the court to enter a default against you after the 30-day deadline passes, and the judge can finalize the divorce based entirely on what your spouse requested. You lose the right to be heard on property, debts, custody, and support. Setting a default aside later is possible in narrow circumstances, but it is far harder than simply filing a Response on time.
The 30 calendar days start the day you are personally handed the Summons and Petition or are otherwise properly served.1Judicial Council of California. Summons – Family Law Weekends and holidays count. The clock does not pause while you look for a lawyer or hope your spouse changes their mind.
The Restraining Orders That Apply Even If You Do Nothing
The back of the Summons contains automatic temporary restraining orders that bind both spouses the moment the respondent is served.2California Legislative Information. California Code FAM 233 – Temporary Restraining Order in Summons Ignoring the papers does not make these go away. Both spouses are prohibited from:
- Taking a minor child out of California or applying for a new passport for the child without the other spouse’s written consent or a court order.
- Transferring, selling, borrowing against, or concealing any property, community or separate, outside of ordinary living expenses or the usual course of business.
- Cancelling, cashing out, or changing beneficiaries on life, health, auto, or disability insurance covering either spouse or the children.
Violating these orders is a criminal matter, not just a procedural slip. They stay in effect until the court enters a final judgment or dismisses the case.
How a Default Gets Entered
Once 30 days pass with no Response on file, your spouse can file a Request to Enter Default (Form FL-165), asking the court to formally note that you did not respond.3California Courts. Request to Enter Default – FL-165 When the court grants it, you are in default. The case moves forward without you.4California Courts. Default in a Divorce or Legal Separation
From that point on, you cannot present evidence, cross-examine, or argue your side. The judge looks at your spouse’s paperwork and the law. What your spouse asked for in the Petition is usually what the court orders.
What the Court Decides Without You
A default judgment covers every issue in the divorce. The court does not schedule hearings for you or wait for your input.
Property and Debts
California requires an equal division of community property, so assets and debts acquired during the marriage generally get split 50/50.5California Legislative Information. California Code FAM 2550 – Equal Division of Community Estate That rule still applies in a default, so your spouse cannot simply claim everything. But your spouse controls which assets get disclosed, whether each one is labeled community or separate, and how it is valued.6California Courts. Property and Debts in a Divorce Without you at the table, the court has no competing information.
This is where defaults do the most damage. If your spouse characterizes a retirement account as separate property or undervalues a business, there is no one in the room to say otherwise. The equal-division rule only protects you if the community estate is accurately identified.
Retirement Accounts
The court can order a division of a 401(k), pension, or similar plan without your involvement. If you default, you have no opportunity to negotiate alternatives, such as keeping your own retirement intact in exchange for giving up a different asset of equal value.
Custody, Visitation, and Child Support
The court decides custody and visitation based on the child’s best interests even in a default. The only information the judge has, however, comes from your spouse’s forms. If the Petition asks for sole custody, the court has no reason to consider a shared arrangement you never proposed. Child support is calculated under California’s statewide guidelines, which use each parent’s income and parenting time. In a default, your spouse supplies the income figures for both sides.
Spousal Support
The court can award temporary or long-term spousal support based on the petitioner’s request and whatever information is available.7California Courts. Spousal Support For marriages of roughly ten years or more, support can last indefinitely unless a court later modifies it. A default removes your chance to present evidence about your spouse’s earning capacity or your own finances.
What a Default Cannot Do
Two guardrails remain even if you never show up.
First, the court cannot award your spouse more than what the Petition asked for. If the Petition requests a 50/50 property split, the judge cannot award 70% because you failed to respond. The Petition sets the ceiling, which is why reading it carefully matters even when you are tempted to put the papers in a drawer.
Second, California’s mandatory six-month waiting period still applies. No divorce becomes final until at least six months after the respondent was served or appeared, whichever comes first.8California Legislative Information. California Code FAM 2339 – Six-Month Waiting Period You remain legally married until the waiting period runs and the court enters its judgment.
Undoing a Default After It Is Entered
If a default has already been entered against you, California offers two main paths to try to set it aside. Each has its own grounds and its own deadline.
Within Six Months: Mistake, Inadvertence, or Neglect
Under California’s Code of Civil Procedure, you can ask the court to set aside a default caused by your own mistake, inadvertence, surprise, or excusable neglect. The request must be filed within six months of the default being entered, and the court has no discretion to extend that deadline.9California Legislative Information. California Code CCP 473 – Relief From Judgment Examples that may qualify include never actually receiving the papers despite what the proof of service says, being hospitalized during the 30-day window, or genuinely misunderstanding the deadline.
“I didn’t think it mattered” or “I was hoping we’d work it out” rarely qualifies. The standard is whether a reasonably prudent person in your situation would have made the same mistake.
Beyond Six Months: Fraud, Perjury, or Duress
California’s Family Code allows a judgment to be set aside on additional grounds even after the six-month window closes. These include fraud that prevented you from participating, perjury in financial disclosures, duress, mental incapacity, and failure to comply with mandatory financial disclosure requirements.10California Legislative Information. California Code FAM 2122 – Grounds and Time Limits for Setting Aside Judgment Fraud and perjury claims must be brought within one year of discovery. Duress and mental incapacity claims must be filed within two years of the judgment.
The Request Itself
In California family court, a set-aside is requested on a Request for Order (Form FL-300). You check the “other” box and write in “set aside default judgment.”11California Courts. Ask the Judge to Set Aside a Family Law Order You need to explain what happened and identify the specific legal ground. If you were never actually served, or the papers were served improperly, that can support a set-aside regardless of timing, because the court never had proper jurisdiction over you to begin with.
If the Respondent Is on Active Military Duty
Federal law adds protection when the respondent is on active duty. Under the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act, before entering any default judgment the court requires an affidavit from the petitioner stating whether the respondent is in military service.12Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 50 USC 3931 – Protection of Servicemembers Against Default Judgments If the respondent is serving, the court must appoint an attorney to represent the absent service member before any default judgment can be entered. Filing a false affidavit about military status is a federal crime punishable by up to one year in prison.
Active-duty members can also request a stay of at least 90 days when military duties prevent them from participating, supported by a written explanation and a letter from the commanding officer confirming the conflict.
Why Filing a Response Is the Easier Path
Filing a Response (Form FL-120) costs between $435 and $450, depending on the county.13California Courts. File Your Response to Divorce Papers If you cannot afford the fee, you can apply for a waiver using Form FW-001, which is available to people receiving public benefits or whose income is below certain thresholds.14California Courts. Request to Waive Court Fees – FW-001
After completing the Response, someone other than you must mail a copy to your spouse or your spouse’s attorney. The person who mails it fills out a proof of service form, which you then file with the court.15California Courts. Serve Your Response That paperwork keeps you in the case. It preserves your right to negotiate, present evidence, and be heard on every decision the court makes. Compared to the cost and difficulty of trying to undo a default later, the filing fee and the time to fill out one form are a bargain.