A California divorce attorney helps you navigate the legal process of ending a marriage under the California Family Code, including filing and serving the petition, financial disclosures, property and debt division, child custody, child support, and spousal support. At Moradi Neufer, our family law attorneys represent clients across California in negotiated, mediated, collaborative, and litigated divorces, with particular experience in high-asset and complex financial cases. California requires a minimum six-month waiting period before a marriage can end, but how long the full case takes depends on the issues in dispute.
A California divorce attorney helps you navigate the legal process of ending a marriage under the California Family Code, including filing and serving the petition, financial disclosures, property and debt division, child custody, child support, and spousal support. At Moradi Neufer, our family law attorneys represent clients across California in negotiated, mediated, collaborative, and litigated divorces, with particular experience in high-asset and complex financial cases. California requires a minimum six-month waiting period before a marriage can end, but how long the full case takes depends on the issues in dispute.
Ending a marriage raises practical questions almost immediately. Where do you file? How long will it take? What happens to the house, the business, and the children? This page explains how divorce works in California, what a divorce attorney does, and when it makes sense to call one. It is general information about California law, not advice about your situation.
A California divorce attorney explains your rights under the Family Code, builds a strategy around your goals, and represents you in negotiations, mediation, and court. In practice, that means managing the paperwork and deadlines and protecting your position on the issues that shape your life after divorce:
At Moradi Neufer, our divorce and separation practice works as a team, with attorneys reviewing case strategy together in regular roundtable sessions.
California is a no-fault divorce state. You do not have to prove your spouse did anything wrong, and the usual ground is irreconcilable differences. The process follows the same basic path in every county, though local court rules and calendars differ from San Francisco to San Diego. The California Courts Self-Help Guide gives an official overview.
To file, one spouse must have lived in California for at least six months and in the filing county for at least three months (Family Code section 2320). If you do not meet those requirements yet, you may be able to file for legal separation first and later amend the petition to request a divorce. Our article on divorce or legal separation compares the two. Special rules apply to registered California domestic partnerships, and cases that touch more than one state raise jurisdiction questions worth reviewing before you file.
The case begins when one spouse files a Petition for Dissolution of Marriage and a Summons with the Superior Court. If you have children, additional custody-jurisdiction paperwork is required. Once the petition is filed and served, automatic temporary restraining orders generally prevent both spouses from transferring or hiding property, changing insurance beneficiaries, or canceling health coverage. Who files first does not decide fault, but timing and venue can matter strategically, especially when spouses live in different counties or states.
You cannot serve the papers yourself. Another adult must deliver them, or your spouse can sign an acknowledgment of receipt, and proof of service must be filed with the court. Your spouse then has 30 days to file a Response. If they do not respond, you can ask the court for a default, which has its own requirements. Our explanation of divorce by default covers how that works.
Both spouses must share financial information, starting with preliminary declarations of disclosure listing income, expenses, assets, and debts under penalty of perjury. The spouse who files must serve theirs within 60 days of filing. Complete and accurate disclosure is the foundation of a fair result. When something appears to be missing, careful review of bank records, business financials, and compensation documents becomes essential.
Most of the work happens here. Spouses can resolve these issues by agreement, through mediation or a collaborative process, or by asking a judge to decide. Temporary orders for support, custody, or use of the family home can be requested early while the case is pending.
Once the issues are resolved, the spouses submit judgment paperwork and the judge signs the judgment. The judgment states the date the marriage ends, which cannot be earlier than the end of the six-month waiting period.
A California divorce cannot be finalized in less than six months. That period runs from the date the petition is served on your spouse or your spouse first appears in the case, whichever comes first (Family Code section 2339). But six months is the earliest date your marriage can legally end, not a promise that your whole case will be finished by then.
Two separate clocks matter: the earliest date the marriage can end, and the time it takes to resolve property, support, and parenting issues. The second clock depends on your facts:
Court calendars vary by county, so timing in Los Angeles or Orange County can look different from Sacramento. No attorney can honestly promise a fixed timeline. What an attorney can do is help you avoid delays caused by errors, incomplete disclosures, and avoidable conflict. Our guide to the full divorce timeline goes deeper.
Yes. Pregnancy does not automatically prevent you from filing for divorce in California, and the law does not require you to wait until the baby is born. Pregnancy does affect the timing of child-related orders, and it can raise parentage questions that need careful handling. Our guide to divorcing while pregnant goes into detail. Here are the essentials.
No. The same residency rules apply as in any other case, and the same six-month waiting period applies. What changes is sequencing. Property division and spousal support can often be resolved while child issues wait, and in some cases everything is resolved together after the birth. Which path makes sense depends on your facts.
California courts generally cannot issue custody or visitation orders for a child who has not been born. Expectant parents can still prepare, for example by drafting a proposed parenting plan and getting ready to request temporary orders soon after birth.
Parentage is the other issue. Under Family Code section 7540, a child born to a spouse during the marriage is generally presumed to be the child of the other spouse, and the presumption can reach children born shortly after a marriage ends. If there is doubt about biological parentage, or if the other spouse or another person disputes it, the question is resolved through a legal parentage process that may involve genetic testing and specific deadlines. Our paternity practice handles these matters. Waiting too long to get advice can limit your options.
Child support is set for a living child with established parentage, so the court will not enter a child support order during pregnancy. After birth, California’s statewide guideline formula applies, taking into account each parent’s income, the time each parent spends with the child, and other factors. Support may be ordered back to the date a request is filed, so timing matters. You can ask for temporary spousal support while pregnant, and the automatic restraining orders generally keep health insurance in place while the case is pending.
Pregnancy raises the stakes on issues that are already sensitive:
There is no one-size-fits-all answer, because the right approach depends on your circumstances.
Every California divorce resolves some combination of the following, either by agreement or by court order.
Community property and community debts are divided equally under Family Code section 2550 unless the spouses agree to a different arrangement. Equal means equal in value, not that every asset is split in half. One spouse may keep the home while the other receives other assets of comparable value. Our page on property and debt division explains how this works.
California courts decide custody based on the best interests of the child, looking at health, safety, welfare, and each parent’s role in the child’s life. Custody has two parts: legal custody, which covers decision-making, and physical custody, which covers where the child lives. See our custody and visitation page for more.
Child support follows a statewide guideline formula. Income, parenting time, taxes, childcare, and health insurance costs all feed into the calculation, and support can include add-ons such as childcare and uninsured medical expenses. Self-employment income and equity compensation can complicate the numbers. Here is what courts consider in child support.
Spousal support is not automatic. Courts weigh the factors in Family Code section 4320, including the length of the marriage, each spouse’s earning capacity, and the standard of living during the marriage. Temporary support can be requested while the case is pending. Learn more about spousal support in California.
The portion of a pension, 401(k), or investment account earned during the marriage and before the date of separation is generally community property. Dividing certain retirement plans requires a separate court order directed to the plan administrator, so precision matters.
A business started or grown during the marriage may be community property in whole or in part. Valuation is often disputed, and forensic accountants or valuation experts are common. Trusts, art, cryptocurrency, and real estate in several places add layers. See our overview of complex financial issues in family law.
California is a community property state. In general, income earned and property acquired by either spouse during the marriage is presumed to be community property, owned equally (Family Code section 760). Separate property generally includes what you owned before the marriage and gifts or inheritances you received individually (Family Code section 770), along with the income and rents from those assets.
That is the starting point, not the answer. Real cases get messier: a home bought before the wedding but paid down with marital income, a business one spouse started before marriage that grew during it, or a separate savings account that was mixed with joint funds. Tracing, commingling, and the date of separation can all change the outcome. A prenuptial or postnuptial agreement can also change the default rules. See our page on prenuptial and postnuptial agreements.
Can spouses agree on everything? Yes, and when they do, the process is usually faster and less expensive. What if they cannot agree? Then the disputed issues are resolved through negotiation, mediation, or a judge’s decision. The right approach depends on the circumstances, and many cases move between these paths.
In an uncontested divorce, spouses agree on all terms and submit them to the court. The six-month waiting period still applies, and paperwork or disclosure errors can cause delays. Our article on what happens when spouses agree on all terms explains the steps. A short marriage with few assets and no children may qualify for summary dissolution, a simplified process with strict eligibility rules.
A divorce is contested when spouses disagree on one or more issues, such as the value of a business, spousal support, or the parenting schedule. Contested does not always mean trial. Many contested cases settle after disclosures, negotiation, or mediation, and a smaller number go before a judge.
In divorce mediation, a neutral mediator helps spouses reach their own agreement, and each spouse can still consult their own attorney. Collaborative divorce uses a team, which may include attorneys, a mental health professional, and a financial specialist, to reach a settlement out of court. Both approaches require good faith from both spouses. Moradi Neufer attorneys serve both as neutral mediators and as consulting attorneys to spouses in mediation.
When agreement is not possible, divorce litigation asks the court to make binding decisions on the issues you cannot resolve. It is more adversarial, but it can be the right tool when communication has broken down or a spouse is not being transparent about finances. When a case will not settle, choosing the right attorney matters, as we explain in our guide to high-asset divorces that will not settle.
Some of the most complicated divorces in California involve executives, founders, business owners, and investors. Common issues include:
How a court treats unvested equity often depends on grant dates, vesting schedules, and how much of the vesting period fell during the marriage. It is a detailed calculation, and mistakes can be expensive. Our attorneys work with forensic accountants and valuation experts and regularly handle equity compensation in divorce.
Moradi Neufer is a full-service family law firm that has helped people across California since 2009, with offices in the Bay Area, Los Angeles, and Orange County. Our divorce attorneys handle negotiated settlements, mediation, collaborative divorce, and litigation, so your strategy follows your goals rather than a single preferred method.
What clients can expect from us:
Six Moradi Neufer attorneys were named 2026 Super Lawyers. You can meet our attorneys and learn more about the firm.
You do not have to wait until papers are filed. Consider speaking with an attorney if:
An early consultation can clarify your options, protect important deadlines, and help you avoid steps that are hard to reverse, such as moving assets or agreeing to terms before you understand them.
Moradi Neufer represents clients throughout California from offices in San Francisco, Oakland, San Mateo, Menlo Park, Los Angeles, Newport Beach, and Irvine. Call the office nearest you, or send us a message and we will follow up about a consultation.
I found out about Adam Neufer a couple of years ago through a close friend and I wanted to share my perspective here because he’s an excellent attorney and more people should know about him. To say he is smart is an understatement. I think he lives and breathes the law too. Since I’m not a lawyer and have no idea how to go through a divorce or a complex division of assets, having someone like him in my corner was a top priority. Adam is really patient and takes the time to explain things thoroughly so you’re fully informed, which made me feel comfortable. He also gets into the details of the case, which is something I think you just don’t see enough from lawyers. Some don’t want to take that time and are bothered if you want them to explain things, but it’s the whole reason I was able to understand the strategy that he proposed. I had no idea how complex the divorce process is in California and knowing Adam was there gave me so much piece of mind. He ensures that you know what actions you need to take so you get to the right outcome. I could have easily made some pretty serious mistakes without his guidance, but I was never worried about checking in with him to confirm I was moving in the right direction. Adam is a great attorney and litigator. I would absolutely recommend him to others going through a tough divorce.
The incredible Kristen Van Antwerp with Noradi Neufer handled my divorce. She was a *perfect* match for my needs and I couldn't be more appreciative of her work. I trusted her advice and knew she had my best interests in mind; she also listened to me and took me seriously. Qualities of Kristen, 1) always informative & educational to me about things I didn't know that were important for me to know; 2) kind, supportive and emotionally intelligent all around; 3) practical and clear in her advice; and 4) efficient in use of time. The law group itself was also a pleasure to work with and took a personal, thoughtful approach to business matters.
I recently had the opportunity to work with Adam Neufer, Ramon Montijo, and Erin Carlson from Moradi Neufer Law Firm on my tedious divorce case, and I am incredibly grateful for their support and expertise throughout the process. From our first meeting, Adam and Ramon demonstrated a high level of professionalism and knowledge in family law. They took the time to thoroughly understand my situation, which made me feel valued as a client. Adam's ability to break down complex legal concepts into understandable terms was particularly helpful, allowing me to make informed decisions at every step. Both Adam and Ramon were not only knowledgeable but also incredibly supportive. They were always available to answer my questions, no matter how trivial they might have seemed. Their respectful approach made me feel comfortable discussing sensitive issues, which is crucial during such a challenging time. I never felt rushed or dismissed; instead, they treated my case with the attention it deserved. The friendly demeanor of Adam, Ramon, Erin made a significant difference in my experience. They maintained a positive attitude throughout the process, which helped alleviate some of the stress associated with divorce proceedings. Their approachable nature encouraged open communication, making it easy for me to express my concerns and needs. I highly recommend Adam Neufer and Ramon Montijo at Moradi Neufer Law Firm for anyone facing family law issues. Their thoroughness, respectfulness, and friendly service turned what could have been an overwhelming experience into a manageable one. I am thankful for their dedication to my case and feel confident in the outcome we achieved together. Thank you, Adam, Ramon, and Erin!
Kiana represented me in my divorce and was fantastic. She's tough when she needs to be, but is also easily approachable and capable of navigating very sensitive issues. There were some complicated issues in my divorce and I was impressed at her knowledge of the law and ability to explain it to me in simple terms. I highly recommend the firm if you have any family law needs.
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