Ending the Marital Relationship in California

Divorce, legal separation and annulment serve different purposes and which one is right for you depends on your unique circumstances.

Divorce

Divorce is the appropriate course of action if you have a valid marriage and want to terminate it. California divorce is no fault — meaning you no longer have to convince a court that your circumstances justify terminating your marriage contract.

The party seeking divorce must also prove that he/she was a California resident for at six (6) months before filing and was a resident of the county in which the petition was filed for at least three (3) months prior to filing. This six month/three month rule only applies in divorce proceedings; it does not apply to legal separation or annulment proceedings.

To obtain a judgment of divorce, both parties must provide various financial disclosures to each other, and file proof of service of such disclosures with the court. The earliest the court can enter a judgment of divorce is six (6) months after the petitioner serves the responding party with a copy of the dissolution petitioner and summons.

If the parties have been married for less than five years, have no children from the marriage, own very little, if any, community property, and owe very little community debt, it is possible to obtain what is called a summary dissolution of marriage.

Annulment

Annulment is the appropriate course of action if believe that your marriage contract was invalid from the beginning. When a court grants an annulment, it is as the marriage never existed. This can have a significant affect on whether a party is entitled to spousal support or is entitled to an equal division of community property. This is because parties to an invalid marriage are generally not entitled to claim spousal support or claim a community property interest in property acquired during the invalid marriage.

Legal Separation

There are some situations where legal separation is the best option. For example, divorce is not an option for some persons, due to their religious values; for them legal separation is an option. For others, financial reasons, such as wanting to continue filing joint tax returns, or not wanting to remove a spouse from existing medical coverage, may lead them to elect to file for legal separation. Strategic or procedural reasons may guide others to seek legal separation instead of divorce; for example, where the party seeking a divorce cannot meet the jurisdictional requirements for filing a divorce, they may be able to instead file for legal separation and later convert their case to a divorce action.

Whether you wish to file for divorce, annulment or legal separation our attorneys can help you. We are prepared to sit down with you in an affordable consultation and go over all of your legal options and give you specific answers to your questions.