About The 6 Month Waiting Period For Divorce | Santa Clarita

If you are trying to find the answer about how long the divorce process takes or about the 6 month waiting period, this article should help you answer the question.

There is much confusion about the 6 month waiting period for divorce in California, also known as the cooling off period.  This is the period of time the courts want to elapse before granting  a divorce to give the parties a chance to get back together.

Here are the answers to some of the questions I routinely get about the six month waiting period.

First, you do not have to finish the divorce in the 6 month period.  It is not a “finish by” date.  Some folks have used the words as if the six months is an expiration or a date by which they have to have all the forms completed.  The court does not require you to have all of your divorce forms completed within the 6 month period.

Second, you don’t have to wait six months to start completing all the divorce paperwork.  The other question I get is “Do i have to wait 6 months before I can start filing out and turning in the paperwork”?.  Again, the answer is “No”.

Third, it is okay to file all the divorce paperwork prior to the six month mark. In fact, you can even submit your final judgment for divorce prior to the 6 months.  And in fact, we usually recommend that you do so because it is taking a very long time for the courts to review judgments right now.

Fourth, the six month waiting period begins the day the Respondent was served the first divorce papers.  It does not start the day you file, that is why it is important to get the other party served so the clock starts ticking on the 6 month waiting period.

When you work with our divorce form preparation firm, we routinely prepare the divorce papers in advance of the 6 months waiting period ending including submitting the entire divorce judgement package.  This way the divorce can be completed right after the 6 month waiting period.