Filing Of The Petition

The party who files for the divorce is the Petitioner. The party who is served with the Petition for Dissolution is the Respondent.

The soonest a divorce can be finalized is 6 months after the date the Respondent spouse is served with the Summons and other initial pleadings.

The Respondent then has 30 days to respond to the Petition. If the Respondent does not serve a Response on the Petitioner, then the Petitioner is allowed to request a Default.

DO YOU NEED A RESTRAINING ORDER?

            Automatic Temporary Restraining Orders or ATROS

           The parties are ordered to obey ATROS at the onset of a

           divorce. The ATROS “restrains” a spouse from (pursuant to

           Family Code § 2040):

            removing a minor child from the state without written permission from the other spouse or an order of the court transferring, encumbering, hypothecating, concealing or in any way disposing of any real or personal property except in the normal course of business or for the necessities of life.  Cashing in, borrowing, canceling, transferring or changing the beneficiaries on any insurance or health coverage, held for either spouse’s benefit or for any minor child.

            Creating a non-probate transfer

            When the ATROS are not enough protection for a party or if a

            party believes that violence could result, the party should seek        

            a “Restraining Order”.

            Restraining Orders

            A restraining order is a court order prohibiting a person from

            doing something. In domestic situations involving spousal

            abuse or stalking, the court order may prevent one spouse

            from making contact with the other spouse, entering the family

            home, or taking a child out of the state in order to protect the

            victim. Restraining orders can be temporary or permanent.