Legal Question in Family Law in California

Your zip code (Chicago) and the fact that you state that you were served while you were in California makes me think that you are not a California resident, and actually have ties to Illinois that would not defeat a jurisdictional challenge.

California has residency requirements prior to filing for divorce, and there are personal jurisdiction issues that sometimes arise when the responding spouse does not reside here.

Community property is a concept in California and some western states that classifies property acquired between the date of marriage and the date of separation as property of both spouses. There are some exceptions, but the rule applies, regardless of which spouse works outside of home. I think Wikipedia has a good article on the concept of community property.

I would add that even if you satisfied the California residency requirements - 6 months permanent residency in the state and four months in the county in which you file - IL would also continue to have jurisdiction. If you then filed in CA and he refiled in IL, the CA courts would abstain from exercising jurisdiction due to the children being resident in IL. ONLY if you brought the children to CA and you and they resided here continuously for the jurisdictional time, would CA exercise jurisdiction over the case in the face of a competing IL case.