A guide for the other spouse

A copy of the Petition (form FL-100) and the Summons (form FL-110), delivered to you by an adult who is not a party to the case, or by mail with a Notice and Acknowledgment of Receipt (form FL-117) that you sign and return. The Summons contains standard restraining orders about property and insurance that apply to both spouses from the moment it is served; read them.

Later, your spouse's preliminary declaration of disclosure: a list of assets, debts, income and expenses, on forms FL-140, FL-142 and FL-150. California law requires each spouse to serve one on the other, and you are required to serve yours on your spouse too.

A marital settlement agreement setting out what the two of you have agreed about property, debts and spousal support. It is not final until both of you sign it, and it becomes part of the judgment.

Do nothing. If you do not file a response within 30 days after you are served, your spouse may ask the court to enter your default. If you have signed the settlement agreement, the judgment includes its terms. Under the Los Angeles Superior Court's fee schedule (item 104, Government Code section 70677(c), as of September 7, 2026), a settlement agreement signed by a defaulted respondent and included in the judgment carries no filing fee.

File an appearance or a response. You may file an Appearance, Stipulations, and Waivers (form FL-130) or a Response (form FL-120) with the court, which makes you a participant in the case. A response or appearance carries the court's first-paper fee, $435 in Los Angeles County as of September 7, 2026, unless the court waives it. A response that disputes the terms makes the divorce contested, and this office's engagement with your spouse ends.

Retain an attorney of your own. You are entitled to independent advice before you sign anything. An attorney of your own choosing would represent you alone and would bill you directly; this office receives no part of any fee you pay.

Your marriage cannot legally end until six months after the day you are served or appear, whichever comes first (Family Code section 2339). Both spouses must exchange preliminary declarations of disclosure before the judgment (Family Code sections 2104 and 2105). Court forms are signed by hand.

This office will not advise you, will not prepare a document for you, and cannot answer questions about your own position. Please do not send this office confidential information. Questions about the process itself can be answered by the court's self-help center, at selfhelp.courts.ca.gov.