Divorce 101: Intro and Overview

This is an introduction only to divorce law in California. It is not intended to be a comprehensive resource. Additional research may be necessary. If you require further assistance, please consult a reference librarian.

The Family Law Section of the California Lawyers Association (CLA) has created a series of self-help videos for self-represented parties in divorce cases. These videos are available for free through the CLA website, and the CLA YouTube Channel. The topics that are covered include:

• Domestic Abuse and Restraining Orders
• Divorce and Legal Separations: An Overview
• Handling the Emotional Aspects of your Divorce or Legal Separation
• How to Complete Your Petition for Dissolution
• Starting Your Divorce: Beyond the Petition
• Requests for Orders: How to Ask the Court for Help
• Preliminary Declarations of Disclosure: What Is It and How to Prepare One
• Your Day in Court​

Welcome to the Guide to Start a Divorce in California. Here you will find where to go to get court forms to start a divorce case, and respond to a divorce case. We take you step-by-step through each stage of the divorce process, and highlight the best resources to find additional information.

The basic steps for obtaining a divorce in California are as follows:

•     Fill out forms for divorce, including but not limited to the Petition and the Summons.
•     File the forms with the Court Clerk, and pay any applicable filing fees.
•     Serve the forms on your spouse or domestic partner.
•     Fill out financial disclosure forms.
•     Complete the divorce, which will depend on whether or not your spouse filed a response, and whether you have come to an agreement.

For more details on each of these steps, consult FL-107-INFO and the Self-Help section of the California Courts website.

There are five options for finding family law forms:

1. Judicial Council Forms: Forms adopted by the Judicial Council of California are either mandatory or optional.

• Mandatory: You must use this form. At the lower left-hand corner, the form will have these words: "Form Adopted for Mandatory Use."

• Optional: You may use this form or create your own form. At the lower left-hand corner, the form will have these words: "Form Approved for Optional Use." 

2. San Diego Superior Court Local Forms: Check the local forms page to see if there are any local forms you must use.

3. Create your own form using pleading paper, a template created on Microsoft Word. Visit our law library location for help accessing forms.

4. Visit the San Diego County Family Law Facilitator Forms Finder to find forms that fit your needs.

5. Use the Tyler Technologies Form Builder to find and fill out forms based on what you would like to accomplish.

The San Diego Law Library is San Diego's access point to legal information, resources, and referrals to help you. Click here for hours and partner locations or contact us at refdesk@sdlawlibrary.org or 619-531-3900.

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