Legal Question in Family Law in California
How do I get a divorce in California? Do I need a lawyer or go to the court and file for divorce? divorce is not recognized in my country. I have been living in California for almost ten years now and my wife is out of the country.
2 Answers from Attorneys
If you have lived in CA, CA has jurisdiction over your marriage. Go to the county court where you live, you can file for divorce, but you will need to have somebody else serve your overseas spouse. I have handled 2 divorce cases this way. You can have a friend or a professional locate your wife and have her personally served with the CA divorce pleadings. It will likely be a uncontested divorce, which will make things easier for you. Good luck,
I suggest speaking to an attorney. You have an issue of personal jurisdiction, because it is not clear whether California has jurisdiction over your spouse, if she has never been to this country. Your wife may not raise that issue, but on the other hand, she may hire an attorney here to file a motion to quash based on the lack of jurisdiction, which would pretty much mean you would not be able to proceed in California.