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California Uncontested Divorce Online  
  Before you start completing your uncontested divorce forms with us, please read all the requirements for California divorce. Make sure that your situation matches all the requirements. California Uncontested Divorce online  
 

Requirements for California Divorce

(California Family Code) 		 
 

RESIDENCY REQUIREMENTS:

The judgment of divorce may be granted only if one of the parties has been a resident of the State of CA for six months and of the county in which the proceeding is filed for three months next preceding the filing of the petition. (California Family Code, Section 2320)

GROUNDS FOR DIVORCE:

Dissolution of the marriage or legal separation of the parties may be based on either of the following grounds:
  • Irreconcilable differences, which have caused the irremediable breakdown of the marriage.
  • Incurable insanity. (California Family Code, Section 2310)
Irreconcilable differences are those grounds which are determined by the court to be substantial reasons for not continuing the marriage and which make it appear that the marriage should be dissolved. (California Family Code, Section 2311)

PROCEDURE:

A person filing for divorce is called a Petitioner. A proceeding for dissolution of marriage or for legal separation of the parties is commenced by filing a petition entitled "In re the marriage of ____ and ____" which shall state whether it is a petition for dissolution of the marriage or for legal separation of the parties. (California Family Code, Section 2330)

CHILD CUSTODY:

Both mother and father are equally entitled to the custody of the child.
 
If one parent is dead, is unable or refuses to take custody, or has abandoned the child, the other parent is entitled to custody of the child. (California Family Code, Section 3010)
 
Determining who shall be awarded child custody the courts consider the "best interest of the child" standard.
 
It is the public policy of the State of California to assure that the health, safety, and welfare of children shall be the court's primary concern in determining the best interest of children when making any orders regarding the physical or legal custody or visitation of children. (California Family Code, Section 3020)

CHILD SUPPORT:

The provisions of an agreement between the parents for child support shall be deemed to be separate and severable from all other provisions of the agreement relating to property and support of the wife or husband. An order for child support based on the agreement shall be law-imposed and shall be made under the power of the court to order child support. (California Family Code, Section 3585)

DISTRIBUTION OF PROPERTY:

California is the community property state. Therefore, except upon the written agreement of the parties, or on oral stipulation of the parties in open court, or as otherwise provided in this division, in a proceeding for dissolution of marriage or for legal separation of the parties, the court shall, either in its judgment of dissolution of the marriage, in its judgment of legal separation of the parties, or at a later time if it expressly reserves jurisdiction to make such a property division, divide the community estate of the parties equally. (California Family Code, Section 2550)

MEDIATION:

Each superior court shall make a mediator available.

SPOUSAL SUPPORT:

In ordering spousal support under this part, the court shall consider all of the following circumstances (California Family Code, Section 4320):
  1. The extent to which the earning capacity of each party is sufficient to maintain the standard of living established during the marriage, taking into account all of the following:
     
    1. The marketable skills of the supported party; the job market for those skills; the time and expenses required for the supported party to acquire the appropriate education or training to develop those skills; and the possible need for retraining or education to acquire other, more marketable skills or employment.
    2. The extent to which the supported party's present or future earning capacity is impaired by periods of unemployment that were incurred during the marriage to permit the supported party to devote time to domestic duties.
     
  2. The extent to which the supported party contributed to the attainment of an education, training, a career position, or a license by the supporting party.
  3. The ability of the supporting party to pay spousal support, taking into account the supporting party's earning capacity, earned and unearned income, assets, and standard of living.
  4. The needs of each party based on the standard of living established during the marriage.
  5. The obligations and assets, including the separate property, of each party.
  6. The duration of the marriage.
  7. The ability of the supported party to engage in gainful employment without unduly interfering with the interests of dependent children in the custody of the party.
  8. The age and health of the parties.
  9. Documented evidence of any history of domestic violence between the parties, including, but not limited to, consideration of emotional distress resulting from domestic violence perpetrated against the supported party by the supporting party, and consideration of any history of violence against the supporting party by the supported party.
  10. The immediate and specific tax consequences to each party.
  11. The balance of the hardships to each party.
  12. The goal that the supported party shall be self-supporting within a reasonable period of time. Except in the case of a marriage of long duration as described in Section 4336, a "reasonable period of time" for purposes of this section generally shall be one-half the length of the marriage. However, nothing in this section is intended to limit the court's discretion to order support for a greater or lesser length of time.
  13. The criminal conviction of an abusive spouse shall be considered in making a reduction or elimination of a spousal support award in accordance with Section 4325.
  14. Any other factors the court determines are just and equitable.
 
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