How to File for a Military Divorce in California

What You Need to Know About Filing a Military Divorce in California

A military divorce is unique in that one or both individuals within a marriage serve in the military. Here’s how to file for a military divorce in the State of California.

Filing for a military divorce in California requires at least one of the spouses to have been a resident of California for at least six months and has been living in the filing California county for at least three months. There are specific rules that military couples must follow when filing for divorce that differs from traditional divorce.

Military Divorce Requirements

Military divorces fall under federal laws, such as the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA), which provides protections to those Armed Forces members on active duty, and the Uniformed Services Former Spouses’ Protection Act (USFSPA), which is a federal law that protects military spouses.

While on active duty, service members are protected in divorce proceedings. Default judgments cannot be taken against them. If non-military spouses wish to file for divorce, court hearings cannot take place until the service member returns from active duty.

As above-mentioned, to file for a military divorce in California, at least one of the spouses must be a resident of California for six months and a resident of the county in which they are filing for at least three months. If neither spouse fulfills this requirement, they must wait to meet residency requirements before filing for a divorce in California.

Filing for Divorce While on Active Duty

Certain rules must be met when serving divorce documents to a spouse on active duty:

Military spouses must be served with divorce documents in person. This may be a challenge, due to the fact that the spouse may be serving in another state or overseas.
Divorce documents must be served by someone who is over 18 years old.
Divorce documents cannot be served by a party in the divorce case. This means that the non-military spouse cannot personally serve divorce documents to the military spouse.

Steps to File for a Military Divorce in California

Every California divorce case begins by filing a petition for marriage dissolution, including the reasons for divorce. This is the same regardless of whether a couple is filing for a civil or for a military divorce. Following this, military couples must follow these steps:

Make sure the couple meets the county’s residency requirements to file for divorce.
Gather documents and fill out the initial divorce forms.
After the documents have been filled out, file the forms with the appropriate filing fees of one’s local court.
Inform the other party that the marriage dissolution case has been initiated by delivering copies of the Petition and Summons.
The individual who informs the other spouse that the marriage dissolution case has been initiated must fill out a proof of service form that will be submitted to the court.
The receiving spouse will then have the opportunity to file a response to the court.

If these steps are correctly followed, a military divorce has successfully been filed in California.

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If you or a loved one have any more questions about how to file for a military divorce in California, contact us. Get your free consultation with one of our California Divorce Attorneys today!