Family Law Flashcards

To file for divorce in California, the residency requirements are:

Answer: At least one spouse must have lived in California for 6 months and in the county of filing for 3 months

Under Family Code § 2320, at least one party must have been a California resident for 6 months and a resident of the county of filing for 3 months.

What is the mandatory waiting period before a California divorce can be finalized?

Answer: 6 months after service of the summons on the respondent or respondent's appearance

Under Family Code § 2339, dissolution cannot become final until at least 6 months after the respondent was served or made an appearance.

California is a no-fault divorce state. The recognized grounds for dissolution under Family Code § 2310 are:

Answer: Irreconcilable differences or incurable insanity

California abolished fault-based divorce; the only grounds are irreconcilable differences (the most common) or incurable insanity.

Under Family Code § 4320, when a court determines the amount and duration of spousal support, which factor is NOT listed?

Answer: The length of time the parties dated before marriage

Section 4320 lists many factors including the marital standard of living, earning capacity, and the supporting party's ability to pay, but pre-marital dating duration is not among them.

California's 'long marriage' rule under Family Code § 4336 provides that for marriages of 10 or more years:

Answer: The court retains jurisdiction to modify or terminate support indefinitely

For marriages of 10+ years, courts retain jurisdiction over support indefinitely, but support is not automatically permanent and may end when the supported spouse becomes self-supporting.

Under the Domestic Violence Prevention Act (DVPA), a Domestic Violence Restraining Order (DVRO) can be sought by:

Answer: Any person in a defined domestic relationship, including current or former dating partners and co-parents

The DVPA covers a broad range of relationships including spouses, cohabitants, dating partners, and persons who share a child, regardless of duration.

An Emergency Protective Order (EPO) issued by law enforcement in a domestic violence situation is valid for:

Answer: 5 business days or 7 calendar days, whichever is shorter

An EPO is a brief stopgap — valid for 5 business days or 7 calendar days — giving the victim time to seek a Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) from the court.