What Are the Residency Requirements for Filing for Divorce in California?

When you got married you envisioned it lasting a lifetime. But since you and your partner decided to get a divorce, you are eager to understand what comes next. In fact, you may have already begun to move on with your life in practical terms and are now wondering what things like meeting residency requirements when filing for divorce in California mean.

Either party can initiate a divorce by filing a court case even if the other party doesn’t want one. Regardless of whether your divorce is amicable, contentious or otherwise, California is a no-fault divorce state. This means that no one has to prove anyone did anything wrong to cause the breakup.

If you have found a way to stay friends with your spouse through the divorce process and can reach an agreement regarding an even split of your property and debt, then you have an “uncontested” divorce option. Which is the easiest option for filing forms with the court and paying a fee to initiate the process. If one or both of you have recently moved there are residency requirements you and your soon-to-be ex-spouse must satisfy before filing with the court.

State and county requirements

The standard for making your spouse your former spouse differs between the state of California and the county in which you reside. Either you or your spouse has to have lived in the state for the past 6 months and in your current California county for the past 3 months, according to the residency requirements to file for divorce.

Other residency rules for legal separations, same-sex couples and domestic partners apply.

Do you have to wait?

In other words, if you or your spouse have recently moved you must calculate the timeframe for meeting those residency requirements based on the date of your relocation. Do you have to wait to file for divorce if you have not crossed that threshold yet? The answer is yes. The court will only consider your case once you have established residency at both the state and county level.

Looking for affordable family law options from someone with years of experience? For more information or to obtain unbundled divorce services, including divorce, summary divorce, legal separation, paternity, judgment, petition for dissolution, response to petition for dissolution, request for orders and modification of court orders, contact Green Giraffe Legal Services today.