Prior to filing a dissolution action in California, one of the parties to the action must satisfy the residency requirements, which specify that a judgment of dissolution of marriage may only be entered into if one of the parties to the action has, prior to the filing of the petition, been a resident (1) of California for six months, and (2) of the county in which the proceeding is filed for three months. If the parties do not satisfy this requirement, the court will not have jurisdiction to hear the case and it will reject, or eventually dismiss, the case.

One of the acceptable grounds for filing a Petition for Dissolution of Marriage or Petition for Legal Separation is irreconcilable differences which have caused the irremediable breakdown of the marriage. Irreconcilable differences will be accepted by the court as a basis to enter dissolution of the marriage if either party has formed the opinion that their relationship has broken down to such extent that no form of counseling or therapy will help the parties reconcile.

A second acceptable ground for dissolving a marriage is incurable insanity. A marriage may be dissolved on the grounds of incurable insanity only if admissible evidence is presented to the court that the insane spouse was insane at the time the petition was file and continues to so remain. The evidence must be based on competent medical or psychiatric testimony. However, even if a court grants the dissolution of marriage based on incurable insanity, the court has jurisdiction to order support for the spouse who is deemed to be incurably insane.

Once a case has been filed and the jurisdictional requirements are satisfied, the court has authority to make orders regarding, but not limited to child support, spousal support, custody, visitation, property and debt division.

The court will only enter a judgment of dissolution of marriage six months after the filing date. This six month waiting period is rooted in the public policy to promote reconciliation once the parties have actually filed for a divorce. You can call this a cooling period before the divorce is finalized. Although each case is different, unless the parties come to an agreement, it is rare to see a dissolution action finalized within these six months. While the case is pending in court, the parties can seek many temporary “Pendente Lite” orders, such as support, custody, visitation, temporary exclusive control of the family residence and orders dealing with payment of community debt. In order to petition the court for these temporary orders there are numerous documents that can be used. A few of the documents that are utilized include the Order To Show Cause, Notice of Motion, Income and Expense Declaration and Schedule of Assets and Debts forms.

Other forms used to finalize the divorce include: Appearances, Stipulations, Waivers, Preliminary Declarations of Disclosure, Declarations Regarding Service of Declaration of Disclosure, Income and Expense Statements, Marital Settlement Agreements and Declarations for Default or Uncontested Dissolution of Marriage.

California is a “Community Property” state, which in essence means that all the properties acquired by a couple during their marriage are presumed to be community property, i.e. each party has an undivided one half interest in said property. This presumption is further supported if the parties acquire real property during the marriage in joint form, such as “tenancy in common”, “joint tenancy” or “tenancy by the entirety”. This presumption affects the burden of proof and may be rebutted in several ways. Although the determination of the intent of the parties is the court’s main concern in determining a property’s character, there are some formal requirements the parties must adhere to when they wish to act contrary to the community presumption. The courts have broad power to award assets to either party in order to equalize the division of the parties’ assets.

Similar to the Community Property presumption, absent a written agreement between the parties, debts that are incurred during the marriage for the necessities of life are presumed to be community debt and subject to equal division. However, debts that are incurred for non-necessities of life are deemed to be the separate debt of the spouse who incurred the debt. Debts incurred by either spouse from the date of separation to the date of entry of judgment are the separate debt of the spouse who incurred the debt.

This was a general overview of Divorce in California. There are many factors that can affect the character of properties during the marriage and in order to protect your rights, you must consult a competent attorney.

We have handled hundreds of Divorces and have extensive experience to ensure that your rights are protected. You can contact us for a free consultation.