Divorce in Los Angeles, California
This page is for people in Los Angeles County who are thinking about divorce or have been served with divorce papers. It explains California's residency rule, the six-month waiting period and the basic court steps, and links to licensed lawyers with family law on record.
Who can file in California[2][6]
A California court can end a marriage only if one spouse has lived in California for six months and in the county where the case is filed for three months just before filing.
If neither spouse meets that rule yet, a legal separation can be filed first and changed to a divorce once the residency time is met.
How long a divorce takes[3][1]
A divorce in California takes at least six months. The marriage cannot end sooner than six months after the other spouse was served with the papers or first appeared in the case.
Many cases take longer, because property, support and parenting issues must be settled or decided by a judge.
A legal separation follows the same steps but has no six-month waiting period.
The basic steps[1][5]
- One spouse files a Petition and a Summons with the Superior Court in the county where they qualify. In Los Angeles County this is the Los Angeles Superior Court.
- The other spouse is served with the papers and can file a Response within the time stated on the Summons.
- Both spouses exchange financial disclosures about income, property and debts.
- The spouses settle the issues in a written agreement or ask the judge to decide them.
- The judge signs a judgment. The marriage ends on the date stated in the judgment, no earlier than the six-month mark.
Short marriages: summary dissolution[4]
Some couples can use a simpler process called summary dissolution. It is limited to marriages of five years or less at the date of separation, with no children together and limited property and debts, and both spouses must meet every condition. The exact limits are set in Family Code section 2400.
Lawyers in Los Angeles, California
The directory lists 9,698 lawyers with an active California license and an office of record in Los Angeles, California; 242 of them have Family Law as a practice area on record (listed in the directory's source file; origin not confirmed, not a certification).
A license record shows a lawyer may practice. It does not show experience with a specific kind of case.
You can check any lawyer's license yourself with the State Bar of California lookup.
State Bar of California license lookup · Browse these lawyers in the directory
Questions
Do I need a lawyer to get divorced in California?[1]
No. California courts let people file without a lawyer, and the court's self-help pages explain each form. A lawyer is most useful when there is significant property, a business, retirement accounts, support disputes or disagreement about the children.
Does it matter who files first?[1]
The spouse who files is the Petitioner and the other is the Respondent. The same rules apply to both; filing first does not give a legal advantage in how property is divided.
You choose which lawyer to contact and what to share. Nothing you type is sent to a lawyer without your say-so.
Sources
- Divorce or legal separation, Judicial Branch of California (official). Checked 2026-10-30.
- California Family Code section 2320 (residence requirement), California Legislature (official). Checked 2026-10-30.
- California Family Code section 2339 (six-month waiting period), California Legislature (official). Checked 2026-10-30.
- California Family Code section 2400 (summary dissolution), California Legislature (official). Checked 2026-10-30.
- Superior Court of Los Angeles County, Superior Court of Los Angeles County (official). Checked 2026-10-30.
- California Family Code section 2321 (changing a legal separation to a divorce), California Legislature (official). Checked 2026-10-30.
This page is general information, not legal advice, and reading it does not create a lawyer-client relationship. Laws change and every situation is different. Check the official sources linked here and talk to a licensed lawyer about your facts.
Reviewed and last updated 2026-10-31. To report an error, write to notices@esqcopilot.com.