Family law in California is governed by the California Family Code and handled through the Superior Court in each county. It covers divorce, legal separation, child custody and support, spousal support, property division, domestic violence protection, parentage, and the dissolution of registered domestic partnerships. Two features shape almost every case: California is a no-fault state, so neither spouse has to prove wrongdoing, and it is one of nine community property states, meaning most assets acquired during a marriage belong equally to both spouses.
Who Can File for Divorce and When
To file for divorce in California, at least one spouse must have lived in the state for the past six months and in the filing county for the past three months.1California Courts. Fill Out Your Divorce Forms There is one narrow exception: if a same-sex marriage was performed in California but neither spouse now lives in a state that will dissolve the marriage, the couple can file in the California county where the ceremony took place.2California Legislative Information. California Code FAM 2320 – Residency Requirements for Dissolution
The statewide filing fee for a dissolution is $435.3Superior Court of California, County of Los Angeles. 2026 Fee Schedule If you cannot afford it, you can ask the court for a waiver. Recipients of Medi-Cal, CalFresh, SSI, or CalWORKs qualify automatically, and the court will also consider a waiver based on low household income.4Judicial Council of California. Information Sheet on Waiver of Superior Court Fees and Costs
The only ground you need is “irreconcilable differences” — the marriage has broken down and cannot be repaired. Permanent incapacity to make decisions is the other statutory ground, but it is rarely used.5California Legislative Information. California Code FAM 2310 – Grounds for Dissolution
Even after filing, a mandatory six-month waiting period must run before the marriage can legally end. The clock starts on the date your spouse is served or first appears in the case, whichever is earlier.6California Legislative Information. California Code FAM 2339 – Waiting Period for Dissolution You can settle everything else during those six months, but the court cannot terminate marital status until the period expires.
Summary Dissolution for Simple Cases
Couples who meet a narrow set of conditions can use a simplified joint process called summary dissolution. All of the following must be true:
- No children were born or adopted during the marriage, and neither spouse is pregnant.
- The marriage lasted five years or less from wedding to separation.
- Neither spouse owns real property, other than a lease expiring within a year of filing.
- Debts incurred during the marriage, excluding car loans, total no more than $4,000.
- Community property assets total less than $25,000 (excluding cars and debts), and neither spouse has more than $25,000 in separate property.
- Both spouses waive spousal support.
The dollar limits adjust periodically for cost-of-living changes, so verify the current figures before relying on them.7California Legislative Information. California Code Family Code 2400 – Summary Dissolution Requirements Either spouse can revoke the joint petition within six months of filing. If no one revokes it, the dissolution becomes final when the waiting period runs.
The Date of Separation
Few dates matter more than the date of separation, because it closes the community property period. Anything earned or acquired after that date is generally separate property, and any new debt is the incurring spouse’s alone.
California defines the date of separation as the day a “complete and final break” in the marital relationship occurred, based on two things: one spouse communicated the intent to end the marriage, and that spouse’s conduct matched that intent.8California Legislative Information. California Code FAM 70 – Date of Separation Privately thinking about divorce is not enough. Courts weigh all relevant evidence, including continued shared finances, cohabitation, or public appearances as a couple. Contemporary records help.
Community Property Division
Property earned or acquired by either spouse during the marriage while living in California is community property, no matter which spouse earned the money or holds the title.9California Legislative Information. California Code FAM 760 – Community Property Defined Wages, real estate, investment accounts, business interests, and retirement contributions accumulated between the wedding date and the date of separation all count.
Separate property stays with its owner. Three things qualify: anything owned before the marriage, anything received during the marriage by gift or inheritance, and income generated by separate property.10California Legislative Information. California Code FAM 770 – Separate Property of a Married Person The complication is commingling. If you used an inheritance for a down payment but paid the mortgage from community earnings, you may need to trace the separate contribution to preserve it.
At trial, the court must divide the community estate equally.11California Legislative Information. California Code FAM 2550 – Equal Division of Community Estate Equal means 50/50. The court can split individual assets, offset one asset against another, or order a sale. Debts get categorized and divided the same way. Spouses can agree in writing to an unequal division, but a judge has no discretion to award one side more than half if the case is contested.
Both spouses owe each other a fiduciary duty regarding community property. Hiding, wasting, or secretly transferring community assets can lead the court to award the harmed spouse a larger share of what remains. A spouse has three years from discovering the wrongful transaction to bring a breach claim.12California Legislative Information. California Code FAM 1101 – Breach of Fiduciary Duty
Retirement Accounts
Retirement plans are often the largest community asset besides the home. The community interest is the portion earned during the marriage, and the court must ensure each spouse receives their full share of any public or private plan, including survivor and death benefits.13California Legislative Information. California Code Family Code 2610 – Retirement Plan Division Dividing most employer plans requires a Qualified Domestic Relations Order (QDRO), a court order directing the plan administrator to pay the non-employee spouse’s share. CalPERS and CalSTRS have their own procedures.
Military Pensions
Under the federal Uniformed Services Former Spouses’ Protection Act, a former spouse can receive direct payment of their share of military retired pay from the Defense Finance and Accounting Service only if the marriage overlapped at least ten years of creditable service, and the decree must state the share as a dollar amount or percentage of disposable retired pay.14Military OneSource. Rights and Benefits of Divorced Spouses in the Military Without the ten-year overlap, the former spouse may still be entitled to a community property share under California law; the payments simply come from the service member rather than the pay center.
Custody and Visitation
Every custody decision comes down to the best interest of the child. The child’s health, safety, and welfare take priority. Courts weigh each parent’s history with the child, any documented abuse, and any pattern of substance abuse.15California Legislative Information. California Code FAM 3011 – Best Interests of the Child State policy favors frequent and continuing contact with both parents, but that policy yields to safety.16California Legislative Information. California Code FAM 3020 – Legislative Findings and Declarations on Custody
Custody has two components. Legal custody is the right to make major decisions about health, education, and welfare. Physical custody determines where the child lives. Each can be sole or joint. Joint physical custody means significant time with each parent, though not necessarily equal.
Required Mediation
When custody or visitation is contested, the court must send the case to mediation before a hearing.17California Legislative Information. California Code FAM 3170 – Mediation of Contested Custody Issues In most counties, mediation takes the form of Child Custody Recommending Counseling, where the mediator can submit a written recommendation to the judge if parents cannot agree.18Judicial Council of California. Guidelines for Child Custody Recommending Counseling In the rest, mediation is confidential and the mediator does not report to the judge. Final authority always rests with the court.
Domestic Violence and Custody
If the court finds a parent committed domestic violence within the past five years, a rebuttable presumption applies: giving that parent sole or joint custody is presumed harmful to the child. The abusive parent must overcome the presumption by a preponderance of the evidence, typically by completing a batterer’s treatment program, any court-ordered substance abuse counseling, and a parenting class, along with other factors.19California Legislative Information. California Code FAM 3044 – Presumption Against Custody for Domestic Violence The general preference for contact with both parents cannot be used to override this presumption.
Child Support
California uses a mandatory statewide formula. Every county applies the same calculation, and judges have limited room to deviate. The formula starts with each parent’s net monthly disposable income and the percentage of time each parent has physical custody, then applies a multiplier tied to the parents’ combined income.20California Legislative Information. California Code FAM 4055 – Statewide Uniform Guideline Child Support Formula For multiple children, the base is multiplied by a factor: 1.6 for two, 2.0 for three, and so on.
Net disposable income is not gross pay. The formula subtracts income taxes, health insurance premiums, mandatory retirement contributions, union dues, and childcare needed for employment. Several Judicial Council-approved calculators can estimate a guideline amount, though the court sets the final figure.21Judicial Branch of California. Guideline Support Calculators
Falling behind carries real consequences. Once arrears exceed $2,500, the state can certify the case to the federal government for passport denial.22Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 42 USC 652 – Duties of Secretary The state can also intercept tax refunds, suspend driver’s and professional licenses, and garnish wages.
Spousal Support
Spousal support, sometimes called alimony, addresses the income gap between spouses. The rules differ for temporary and long-term awards.
Temporary support is paid while the divorce is pending, calculated in most counties using a local income-based formula meant to preserve the status quo. It ends when the court issues a final judgment.
Long-term or permanent support follows a different analysis. Rather than a formula, the court weighs statutory factors: each spouse’s earning capacity and marketable skills, the marital standard of living, the length of the marriage, each spouse’s age and health, and whether one spouse put a career on hold to support the other. The court also considers documented domestic violence, tax consequences, and the balance of hardships.23California Legislative Information. California Code FAM 4320 – Factors for Spousal Support
Duration is often misunderstood. For marriages under ten years, the general expectation is that support lasts about half the length of the marriage. For marriages of ten years or more, California treats the marriage as one of “long duration” and the court retains jurisdiction over support indefinitely; it can be modified later but does not automatically end on a set date.24California Legislative Information. California Code FAM 4336 – Retention of Jurisdiction for Long-Duration Marriages Indefinite jurisdiction is not the same as indefinite payments. The court can terminate support if circumstances change.
Taxes After Divorce
For any divorce finalized after December 31, 2018, alimony payments are neither deductible by the paying spouse nor taxable to the receiving spouse.25Internal Revenue Service. Divorce or Separation May Have an Effect on Taxes This applies to federal and California returns alike.26Franchise Tax Board. Alimony The paying spouse gets no tax benefit, which matters when negotiating amounts.
Which parent claims the child causes frequent confusion. The custodial parent, meaning the one the child lives with more than half the year, is generally entitled to claim head-of-household status, the child tax credit, the dependent care credit, and the Earned Income Tax Credit. The custodial parent can sign a written release allowing the noncustodial parent to claim the child tax credit and dependency exemption, but head-of-household filing and the EITC stay with the custodial parent regardless of any agreement.27Internal Revenue Service. Divorced and Separated Parents
Domestic Violence Restraining Orders
A person experiencing abuse can petition for a Domestic Violence Restraining Order without meeting any residency requirement. The court can issue the order the same day, without the other party present, based on the petitioner’s sworn statement showing reasonable proof of past abuse.28California Legislative Information. California Code Family Code 6300 – Issuance of Protective Orders
A DVRO can order the restrained person to cease all contact, stay a set distance away, move out of a shared residence, and turn over firearms. The court can grant temporary custody of children and exclusive care of pets.29California Legislative Information. California Code FAM 6320 – Orders Included in Domestic Violence Restraining Order A temporary ex parte order typically lasts about three weeks until a full hearing. At the hearing, both sides present evidence, and the court decides whether to issue a longer-term order that can last up to five years and be renewed.
Parentage for Unmarried Parents
When parents are not married, there is no automatic legal relationship between a father and child, and parentage must be established before a court can order custody, visitation, or support. The simplest route is signing a Voluntary Declaration of Parentage at the hospital or later. The alternative is a court action.
California also recognizes presumed parents. A person married to the birth mother when the child is born is presumed to be a parent. So is someone who takes the child into their home and openly holds the child out as their own, or who is named on the birth certificate with their consent.30California Legislative Information. California Code FAM 7611 – Presumption of Parentage The state also allows a child to have more than two legal parents when recognizing only two would be detrimental to the child.
Registered Domestic Partnerships
Registered domestic partners have the same rights, obligations, and procedures as married spouses for dissolution, property division, custody, and support. Dissolution follows the same Family Code rules, and the superior court has jurisdiction.31California Legislative Information. California Code FAM 299 – Dissolution of Domestic Partnerships One notable difference: a domestic partnership registered in California can be dissolved in California courts even if neither partner currently lives in the state, which removes the residency barrier that applies to divorce filings. Couples who are both married and registered as domestic partners can dissolve both relationships in a single proceeding.