The Divorce Process and Laws in California

The spirit of California is no doubt Western and most certainly has its anchoring in the culture of the United States. Being a border and coastal state, Californian culture has been greatly influenced by several large immigrant populations, especially those from Latin America and East Asia. California is certainly cosmopolitan in temperament and is truly the gateway to the character of the US. nnIn the 1960s, California surpassed New York to become the most populous state in the nation, a position it continues to hold. California has always been open to alternative lifestyles and is not uniformly religious. Californians are perceived to be more liberal as compared to the other Americans. This vision of openness and acceptance is clearly reflected in the Family Law of the state. In fact, California was the first state to implement the “no-fault divorce” concept.nnTo file a Petition for Dissolution of Marriage in California, one has to make sure that the Superior Court has the jurisdiction over the given case. It requires meeting certain residency requirements. To enter a judgment of dissolution of marriage, one of the parties has to be a resident of the state for six months and of the county in which the proceeding is filed for three months next preceding to the filing of the petition. Dissolution of marriage may be based on either of the following grounds:nn1) Irreconcilable differences, which have caused the irremediable breakdown of the marriage.n2) Incurable insanity.nnHowever, incurable insanity is considered to be a valid ground only if supported by ample proof including competent psychiatric or medical testimony from a professional (California Code-Sections: 2310). Marriage may also be void based on polygamy, incest, mental incapacity, consent to marriage obtained by fraud or force, and other relatively unusual situations.nnA dissolution proceeding is initiated by the filing of a petition by one party. The Dissolution of Marriage is typically filed within the county in which the filing spouse lives (California Code-Sections: 297, 298, 2320, and 2339). The party originally filing the petition is called the “Petitioner” and the other party is called the “Respondent”. The petition is then delivered either personally or by mail to the Respondent. The date of delivery to the Respondent is very important as it marks the beginning of the six-month waiting period, after which the request for final dissolution of marriage could be made. The Respondent then has 30 days to file a Response (Family Law). In case the Respondent fails to file a timely response, the Respondent’s “default” is entered by the court clerk and the matter proceeds without the Respondent’s participation. However, if a response is filed, the case is set for a Court hearing. In the event of custody or support disputes, one of the spouses may file an Order to Show Cause (OSC). In this hearing, the court makes temporary child custody, support and restraining orders. The parties then engage in discovery, which involves a meticulous exchange of information and documents that are relevant to the case. Once the discovery process is over, the two parties may work out a full Marital Settlement Agreement, arranging for equal distribution of assets and for custody, visitation, child support and spouse support. This arrangement is then incorporated into a “Judgment” which is then signed by the judge and made an order of the court. In case the parties are unable to agree on the issues, then the court must resolve them for the parties in a trial. After the trial is over, one of the attorneys prepares a Judgment of Dissolution of Marriage, which contains all the court rulings. This judgment is then filed and the court mails a Notice of Entry of Judgment to each attorney. nnIn California, there also exists the provision for Summary Dissolution of Marriage, providing the possibility of avoiding a court trial. However, a couple needs to fulfill certain criteria to qualify for a Summary Dissolution. General criteria for a Summary Dissolution in California are:nn• either spouse meets residency requirements for a standard dissolution. n• there are no children born or adopted during the marriage.n• the couple has been married for 5 years or less.n• neither spouse owns any real estate or much property.n• there are no unpaid debts exceeding $ 4,000.n• the spouses tend to agree on the issue of division of assets and debts.nnAfter filing for a Summary Dissolution, there is a 6-month waiting period, at the end of which the dissolution could be completed by filing a Request for Judgment with the court.nnIt is a known fact that the State of California no longer reports its own divorce rate after 1980. However, a high divorce rate in California was already a known problem since 1947, when there were 51,336 divorces. There were 2.8 million divorces in the forty years between 1940 and 1980 alone. As per recent estimates, in Southern California, the divorce rate is purported to be even higher, somewhere between 60-75%.