September 04, 2025
How Long Do I Have to Wait to be Divorced in California?
The short answer is six months and one day. The legislature created a six month and one day waiting period between people filing for divorce and the court having the power to grant them a Judgment of Dissolution, ending their marriage. This was instituted when California became a ‘no-fault’ state, allowing people to get divorced without having to justify their decision to the court. In California, it’s considered no one’s business why people get divorced. People are given the right to make that decision and be granted a divorce. While the no-fault social policy has roots in freedom and safety, the legislature chose to create the six month and one day ‘cooling off’ period to ensure that people were not divorcing in a hurry and regretting that decision later.
How Do We Get the Clock Going?
There are multiple options for getting the six month and one day clock going. If one person is filing a Petition without involving their spouse in that process, then the waiting period starts the day that they have someone serve a filed-endorsed Petition on their spouse. So it’s: 1) filing the Petition, and 2) their spouse being notified about that event by being given a copy of it. In mediation, we’ve historically be able to take a different route to get the six months and one day clock going by having the two people work together to file the Petition and Response at the same time. Since the court knows that the Respondent spouse is aware of the Petition being filed when they file a Response at the same time, the court is allowed to start the clock the day of filing. (Service of the Petition still needs to be done to fulfill that legal requirement, but the date that happens becomes meaningless.)
Another way to get the six month and one day clock going, as of January 1, 2026, is for the people to work together to file a joint Petition. This new option comes from the passing of law SB 1427, promoted as a legal and cultural development supported by many family law mediators and Collaborative attorneys. Many times in the past, Mediation Offices clients have expressed discomfort that the legal system forced them to declare themselves as having adverse interests and being legally opposed to each other by having to file separately. I learned to downplay the fact that we were filing a Petition and Response, which is done in any sort of litigation case and forces spouses to be on different “sides,” and instead I emphasized that the court will see that they are filing their Petition and Response simultaneously and will likely note the cooperation that implies. I would assure them that once we completed filing their Petition and Response that in Mediation Offices they would be treated as one family to their children or one unit to their families or joint interest.
You Do Not Need To Track the Date
Once the six months and one day clock is going, does that mean that you have to have your divorce done by that date? No. Sometimes clients are surprised to learn that when the six months and one day date happens the court doesn’t do anything. No one is notified of the date occurring, and it doesn’t trigger any activity by the court. The date just goes by in the midst of the usual procedures and timing of an unfolding divorce case. It just happens.
So, what if you and your spouse want a quick, efficient mediation process that finishes your divorce process before the six month and one day date? You can completely decide to do that. It’s possible for two people to develop their divorce agreements, have Mediation Offices submit those agreements and all their other required final paperwork with the court, and have the Judge review their proposed agreements and approve them at any time after the Petition and Response have been filed. The only thing to note is that the Clerk’s Office will calculate the six months and one day date and make the divorce effective that day in the future.
For instance, let’s say that Rosa and Juan come into Mediation Offices and say they’d like to work together to develop their divorce agreements and that for traveling purposes they’d like to get their mediation done in two months. We would talk about everything they’d have to do in those two months for that to happen, and if they committed to following that plan, we’d get started. First, we’d file their Petition and Response to get their six months and one day going. Then, we’d get their required Financial Disclosure done just like any other divorce in California. We’d develop their agreements after reviewing their collected information and learning about the law that applies to their situations. Next, only two months after we filed their Petition and Response, Mediation Offices would file all their final paperwork with the court. So starting at month two, for Rosa and Juan, the mediation process is done because there are no more mediation sessions to schedule and nothing more for them to do. To finish everything up, around month four, or so, their Judge would review their agreements and divorce them. The Clerk’s Office would mail Rosa and Juan copies of their divorce decrees approved by the Judge. At this point, also from the court’s perspective, Rosa and Juan’s divorce case is done. Rosa, Juan, Mediation Offices, and the court would’ve worked together to complete their divorce well before the six months and one day date. The only important thing to note is that the date of divorce would not be the day the Judge signed their divorce decree. The divorce date would be the six months and one day date in the future. So no getting married again until that date, I have sometimes exhorted clients who took this route.
All of this means that in mediation, clients can go through the process as quickly or as slowly (cases stay active for five years) as they need to without having to keep track the six month and one day date.
Schedule a free, 15-minute phone consultation to learn more about our divorce mediation services at: mediationoffices.net/contact