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Overview
Since
1970 the process of divorce in California has been known as
"dissolution of marriage." Dissolution of marriage is one
of three ways to terminate a marriage in California. The other
two ways are by obtaining an annulment of the marriage or
upon the death of either spouse.
In
a dissolution action the parties are referred to as the "petitioner,"
and the "respondent." The petitioner is the spouse who initiates
the dissolution proceeding, either the husband or the wife.
The other spouse, who is responding to the request for dissolution,
is the respondent.
A
dissolution action begins with one spouse filing a document
with the court known as a "Petition for Dissolution of Marriage."
The other spouse must then be served with a copy of the Petition
and other related documents. That spouse, the respondent,
usually has thirty days to respond to the initial Petition.
The
ultimate goal of any dissolution action is to obtain a "Judgment
of Dissolution" from the court. The judgment will contain
orders from the court, which resolve every issue in the case.
Common issues that are addressed in a judgment of dissolution
include child support and visitation, division of assets and
debts, spousal support and the like.
There are three ways for a judgment of dissolution to be obtained.
First, if the respondent is properly served, but never appears,
the petitioner may receive the judgment by "default." Second,
the parties may mutually agree on the resolution of the issues
in the case and obtain a judgment by "stipulation." Lastly,
if the parties cannot agree, unresolved issues can be decided
by a judge resulting in a judgment after trial.
Between
the times a dissolution action is filed and the time a judgment
of dissolution becomes effective, the court may use temporary
orders to resolve any issue in the case. These temporary orders
are very important because they can address the immediate
concerns of the parties, and also they frequently form the
basis for the permanent orders which collectively make up
the final judgment.
Under
California law there is a statutory "waiting period" of six
months before the parties to a dissolution proceeding are
legally returned to the status of single persons. The parties
may not remarry until this waiting period has expired.
The
six-month period begins on the date the respondent was served
with the appropriate documents or appeared in court, not from
the date of filing. Many dissolution actions are resolved
before the six-month period has elapsed. In such cases a judgment
of dissolution can be obtained immediately. All of the orders
contained in the judgment are effective when made except the
order, which restores the parties to single person status.
The judgment will contain the specific date on which the parties
will be free to remarry.
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