Residency Requirements for a California Divorce

If you are contemplating filing for divorce, you may be wondering how long it takes for a California divorce to be finalized. This is a good question considering the fact that the timeframe for obtaining a divorce varies from state-to-state.

California follows the "no-fault" divorce rule. This means that a divorce can be obtained so long as one of the spouses wants a divorce, even if their spouse wants to remain married.

In order to get a divorce in California, you must meet the residency requirements first. At least one of you must have lived in the state for a minimum of six months before the divorce petition can be filed.

Additionally, you must have lived in the county, for example, Los Angeles County, where you are filing for divorce for at least three months before you file the divorce papers.

In other words, in order to file for divorce, one of you must have lived in California for at least six months and, you must have lived in the county where you are filing your divorce petition for three months before filing.

I filed the divorce papers, how long now?

Assuming you have met the residency requirements and filed the divorce papers, now how long will it take before your divorce can be final? Under California's divorce law, you will have to wait at least six months before your divorce can be finalized.

The speed of your particular divorce will have much to do with how organized you both are financially, and how readily you agree on important issues, such as child custody, property and debt division.

Collaborative divorces tend to be much faster than litigated divorces, which can take months, if not years to process through the courts.

To file for divorce in Los Angeles County, contact Claery & Hammond, LLP today! All of our initial consultations are complimentary.

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