Filing for divorce is a procedure about as complicated as it is hard to go through, seeing as how there are very specific laws to follow when filing for a Californian divorce. There are not only various steps to follow from the California divorce forms, but there are also some requirements that the applicants for divorce must meet.

First of all, it is the law in California that the spouse who is filing for a divorce must have been residing in the state for at least 6 months, and in the county where the divorce is being filed for at least three months. In addition, before the divorce goes past the point of no return and becomes set in stone an additional wait period of around six months is required after the filing. Just to mention, if partners are in a legal union or a domestic partnership they are allowed to terminate their partnership by simply filling out the appropriate papers that can be obtained from either the office of the Secretary of State, or simply any county clerk.

When you are going to be submitting your California divorce forms, you will also need to explain your grounds for a divorce, and as of now there are only 2 legal grounds for divorce: either there are some “irreconcilable differences” between the two partners, either one or both are suffering from some type of incurable mental illness that renders them insane.

In any case, if you are living in California and are planning on filing for a divorce then you can actually find the California divorce forms online, which would save you a considerable amount of time. It would be a good idea to look them up and examine them to see all the various laws that are going to be applied to your case.

Forms:
Petition — Marriage (Family Law) - To start a divorce or legal separation when you are married. Lists dates, children, property, and debts.

Petition — Domestic Partnership (Family Law) - To start a divorce or legal separation when you are registered domestic partners. Lists dates, children, property, and debts.

Summons (Family Law) - Tells your spouse or domestic partner that a court case has started and what will happen if he or she does not respond in 30 days.

Proof of Service of Summons (Family Law — Uniform Parentage — Custody and Support) - Tells the court you had the papers served on your spouse or domestic partner

Other Divorce Forms can be obtained from California Judicial Branch Website.