Uncontested Dissolution of Marriage (Divorce): An Overview

Save a bundle on legal fees if your divorce is uncontested!

What does "uncontested" mean?
A dissolution of marriage (divorce) is uncontested if both spouses agree on the division of assets and debts, child custody arrangements and payment of child or spousal support. Most divorce cases are resolved in this manner, where the terms of property division, support and custody are addressed in a written Marital Settlement Agreement (MSA), and no trial is necessary. If your case is contested, please contact an attorney or certified family law mediator to ensure your rights are protected.

There are many advantages:

• Save a bundle on legal fees


• Quick, efficient court processes, requiring minimal, if any, court appearances (often no court appearance is necessary)


• The MSA becomes part of your judgment; you essential get to write your own court orders


• You maintain control of your entire case

Types of Uncontested Divorces

Uncontested Dissolution of Marriage
This is the typical uncontested divorce case. One spouse, the "Petitioner" files the Petition; the other spouse, the "Respondent" files a Response, or an Appearance, Stipulations, and Waivers form. Both spouses must pay a court filing fee (unless a fee waiver is granted due to financial hardship). Both spouses must exchange financial disclosures with each other, and both parties must sign the Marital Settlement Agreement. All required documents can be completed very quickly, so you get your judgment back as soon as possible.

Default Case with Written Agreement
This type of divorce is similar to the Uncontested Dissolution of Marriage, above. However, in this type of uncontested divorce case, the Respondent does not file any response with the court (thereby saving the Respondent's filing fee, which varies by jurisdiction but is typically around $400). A Default may take a bit longer than the above type of case, because the Petitioner must wait until at least 30 days after the Respondent is served with the Petition before filing the Default paperwork and submitting the final judgment packet and MSA to the court. Even though the Respondent makes no appearance, he or she still must exchange financial information with the Petitioner, and must sign the Marital Settlement Agreement.

True Default Case
In a true default case, the Respondent files no documents, makes no appearance in court, and does not sign a Marital Settlement Agreement. The Petitioner must prove to the court that the Petition and financial disclosures were served on the other spouse, and must file several other forms with the court. A hearing may be necessary with this type of divorce; but you can still proceed with the dissolution of your marriage, even if your spouse is totally non-responsive.

Factors Common to All Uncontested Divorce Cases

• The earliest you can be legally deemed an "unmarried" person is six months plus one day from the date the Petition was served on the Respondent


• If your documents are processed and the court judgment entered before that date, you may proceed with dividing assets, changing your name, and enforcing other provisions in your MSA; however, your marital status will not change from "married" to "unmarried" until the expiration of six months plus one day, or another later date as determined by both spouses or the court

New Statewide Task Force Appointed to Improve Fairness, Efficiency in Family Law Cases

San Francisco—William C. Vickrey, Administrative Director of the Courts, today announced the appointment of members to the Elkins Family Law Task Force, a new statewide panel that will strive to improve efficiency and fairness in family law proceedings.

To be chaired by Associate Justice Laurie D. Zelon of the Court of Appeal, Second Appellate District (Los Angeles), the task force will conduct a comprehensive review of family law proceedings and recommend changes to increase access to justice, ensure due process, and provide for more effective and consistent rules, policies, and procedures.

“The diverse membership of this impressive group will permit a thoughtful and thorough review of the many challenges involved in family law proceedings,” stated Chief Justice Ronald M. George. “The courts and public we serve will greatly benefit from improvements to the administration of justice in this important area.”

“In the lives of the parties, the significance and importance of family law cases cannot be overstated,” Mr. Vickrey observed. “The courts have a vital role to play in these cases, where critical issues are involved. The parties deserve policies and procedures that can be understood and navigated, and the rules must ensure due process and the opportunity to be heard to ensure the trust and confidence of parties involved in family law proceedings.”

Justice Zelon noted, “I look forward to working with this impressive group of family law experts and to hearing from the many interested groups and individuals who care about improving the way we handle family law cases. It is my hope that this task force, as a group, will quickly come to understand the challenges faced by litigants in family court. More importantly, we will then determine how we can put in place rules, practices, and procedures to better serve the people of California.

“The Supreme Court and the Judicial Council have asked us to deal with important and challenging issues, and I am confident that we will discharge our responsibilities well,” Justice Zelon continued. “We need to ensure that the interests of all parties in family law cases can be served and that justice and due process for all remains paramount. In recent years, the number of parties who are self-represented in family law proceedings has increased dramatically. This fact adds complexity to the issues, but also creates an opportunity for innovation and new approaches.”

The task force was appointed in response to a California Supreme Court opinion, Elkins v. Superior Court, 41 Cal.4th 1337, filed August 6, 2007. Authored by Chief Justice George, the unanimous opinion held that marital dissolution trials should proceed under the same general rules of procedure that govern other civil trials.

The ruling further provided: “We recommend to the Judicial Council that it establish a task force, including representatives of the family law bench and bar and the Judicial Council Advisory Committee on Family and Juvenile Law, to study and propose measures to assist trial courts in achieving efficiency and fairness in marital dissolution proceedings and to ensure access to justice for litigants, many of whom are self-represented. Such a task force might wish to consider proposals for adoption of new rules of court establishing statewide rules of practice and procedure for fair and expeditious proceedings in family law, from the initiation of an action to postjudgment motions. Special care might be taken to accommodate self-represented litigants. Proposed rules could be written in a manner easy for laypersons to follow, be economical to comply with, and ensure that a litigant be afforded a satisfactory opportunity to present his or her case to the court."

Members of the legal community and public who wish to share ideas with the Elkins Task Force may do so by writing to Elkinstaskforce@jud.ca.gov.