That depends on you and your spouse, the complexity of your situation, and your willingness to work toward an amicable resolution.
There is a minimum of 6 months that you have to wait after the divorce action has been filed before the court will enter your final judgment and finalize your divorce.
You don’t have to agree. If your spouse has filed for divorce and insists on proceeding with the process, it will happen with or without you. If you ignore the divorce papers and don’t respond, the court may enter a default against you and proceed with the divorce with your spouse only, granting everything he or she requests.
It depends.
An annulment is when a court says your marriage is NOT legally valid. After an annulment, it’s as if your marriage never happened because it was never legal. Annulment isn’t an option in all cases, as you have to prove to the court that your marriage qualifies for annulment.
Some reasons the court may grant an annulment are:
- If you or your spouse were a minor at the time of the marriage
- If you or your spouse were already legally married to someone else at the time of the marriage
- If you or your spouse can show that you got married due to fraud, force, or while incapacitated.
Yes. If you want to change your name back to your maiden name or a prior married name, you can do so during your divorce process.
In California, NO. California is a “no fault divorce” state. As discussed in “What If Divorce Was Impossible?”, This means that the spouse who wants the divorce is not required to prove that the other spouse did something wrong. In fact, with few exceptions, the courts generally don’t care why you’re getting a divorce; this is why the only two “reasons” for divorce that are documented in divorce pleadings are:
- Irreconcilable Differences (the spouses couldn’t get along), or
- Incurable Insanity- one spouse is “insane” (While many people may believe the other spouse is “crazy”, to use this reason, claims of insanity must be substantiated by a medical doctor).
The main difference between a divorce and legal separation is that though you and your spouse will be living separate and apart if legally separated, you will still be legally married. When you divorce, your marriage is terminated. The legal process for a legal separation and divorce is similar. For both processes you will resolve child custody and support issues, spousal support, and divide your property.
The most common reasons that some parties choose legal separation is:
- to preserve their religious/moral beliefs
- not yet meeting the residence requirements to file for divorce in California
- uncertainty of whether you want to proceed with a divorce for sure
- to preserve their religious/moral beliefs
- maintain marital tax benefits
- maintain eligibility for the other spouse’s medical insurance benefits
A divorce is considered “uncontested” if you and your spouse are able to agree on everything related to your divorce and don’t need the court to make decisions for you. There are many benefits to an uncontested divorce, the most obvious being that it typically will be completed more quickly and at a lower cost than a case that is contested.
