California Divorce Forms

When you are resident of California and filing for divorce, you would need to ensure to follow instructions by using California Divorce Forms that will guide you through right direction, which are Annotated California Code; Sections 297, 298, 2320, and 2339.

Residency Requirements for California Divorce

The spouse who is filing for dissolution of marriage must have been a resident of the state for at least 6 months and also have been a resident of the county where the dissolution of marriage is filed for 3 months. Also, before the dissolution of marriage becomes final, additional waiting period of 6 months are required after the service of process or the respondent's appearance happens.

Under California Family Code Section 297, partners of a "domestic partnership" may terminate their partnership each other by using legal forms available from any county clerk or the Secretary of State's office.

Legal Separation grounds in California

In California, the grounds for obtaining a legal separation are 2 folds:

Irreconcilable differences or Incurable insanity.

It is required that the spouse filing for legal separation must have been a resident of the state for 6 months and a resident of the county for 3 months where the legal separation action is filed for.

Above case is specified in Annotated California Code; Sections 2310 and 2320.

Simplified/Special Divorce Procedures in California

In case of marriages of 5 years or less might be dissolved by summary action. You can file a Joint Petition for Summary Dissolution of Marriage if:

Either spouse has met the requirement of residency for a standard dissolution of marriage
There is an irremediable breakdown of the marriage because of irreconcilable differences
There are no children born of or adopted while the marriage continued
The wife is not currently pregnant
Neither spouse owns any real estate property
There are no unpaid debts that are exceeding $4,000 incurred during the marriage
The community property's total value (including any deferred compensation or retirement plans but excluding cars and loans) is less than $25,000
Neither spouse has separate property (excluding cars and loans) exceeding $25,000 in value

[On January 1 of every odd-numbered year, the dollar amounts in this section may be revised]
The spouses have signed an agreement regarding the division of their assets and the assumption of their liabilities and have signed any documents or given proof of any transfers necessary to effectuate the agreement
The spouses are waiving any rights to spousal support [maintenance]
The spouses are waiving their right to appeal the dissolution of marriage and their right to a new trial upon entry of the final dissolution of marriage judgment
The spouses have read and fully understand the summary dissolution of marriage brochure available from the county clerk
Both spouses agree and desire that the marriage be dissolved
In California, official mandatory and optional divorce forms for filing for a Summary Dissolution of Marriage are available from the County Clerk of any county.

If you are considering a marriage dissolution in California, then California Divorce Forms are very important prior to any actions as you would want to know what specifics of requirements are.