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You are here: Families & Children > Family Law Overview > Ending A Marriage - Divorce, Legal Separation & Annulment Overview
Divorce. A divorce (also called a "dissolution of marriage") ends your marriage. You can get a divorce if you say you have "irreconcilable differences" with your spouse. You don't have to give the court any other reason. It doesn't matter who is at fault.
To get a divorce in California, you or your spouse must have lived in California for the last 6 months AND for 3 months in the county where you're going to file for your divorce. Click here to learn more about California's "residency requirements."
When you get a divorce, you can ask the judge to make orders about:
- Custody and visitation. This means who your children will live with and how you and your spouse will share parenting responsibilities.
- Child and spousal support. This means the amount of money that the judge orders one spouse to pay the other spouse.
- The division of your property.
- And who will be responsible for paying debts.
If attorneys are involved, you may be able to get orders about who will pay their fees. You can also ask the judge to make other orders about things like domestic violence. Click here to learn more about domestic violence and staying safe.
Anyone who is married can get a regular divorce.
Some couples that have been married less than 5 years can get a "summary dissolution." A summary dissolution is an easier way to end your marriage. Click here to learn more about getting a summary dissolution.
For more information, go to this Self-Help Center's section on Divorce, Legal Separation & Annulment.
Legal Separation. If you can't (or don't want to) get a divorce, you can ask the judge for a legal separation. (You can't get a divorce if you and your spouse have lived in California for less than 6 months (or for less than 3 months in the county where you want to file).)
If you get a legal separation, you can ask the judge for orders on things like child support and spousal support, custody and visitation, domestic violence restraining orders, or any other orders that you could get in a divorce.
To get a legal separation, you follow the same basic process used for a divorce. But legal separation is different because it doesn't end your marriage. You and your spouse may NOT remarry after getting a legal separation. If you ask for a legal separation, you may be able to change to a divorce case later if you meet certain requirements.
For more information, go to this Self-Help Center's section on Divorce, Legal Separation & Annulment.
Annulment. In an annulment (also called "nullity of marriage"), a judge can say that a marriage is not legally valid.
A marriage that is
- incestuous (between close blood relatives), or
- bigamous (where a spouse is already married to someone else)
is never legally valid.
A judge can also say that a marriage is not valid for other reasons, like when a person is younger than 18 at the time of the marriage. There are several other reasons why a judge may say that a marriage is not legally valid.
To get an annulment, you must be able to prove to the judge that one of these reasons is true in your case. This makes an annulment case very different from a divorce or a legal separation. "Irreconcilable differences" are not a reason for getting an annulment.
Getting an annulment doesn't depend on how long you've been married. Even if you've been married only a very short time, you may not be able to prove to the judge that your case has one of the legal reasons that makes your marriage invalid.
When you ask the court for an annulment, you can also ask for orders on things like child custody and visitation, and child and spousal support.
Note: A nullity removes the presumption of parentage arising from a valid marriage. Therefore, you must also ask that the parentage be established for any children you have in common with the other party.
For more information, go to this Self-Help Center's section on Divorce, Legal Separation & Annulment.
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Last modified: 03/17/2008
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