Legal Question in Family Law in California

Re: Can I leave the state?

You can put the whole deal together into a stipulated judgment and submit to the court. The judge will sign now and you will have a conformed copy. On the judgment, the clerk will fill in the date upon which you will be single (six months from service or response). You can leave with that paperwork and, at midnight of the date put in by the clerk, you will be single.

No need to be here if it is uncontested.

Re: Can I leave the state?

The earlier answer is correct. However, I was involved in a case where the wife filed a petition for divorce. She attempted to take the husband's default before 30 days after he had been served. The request to enter his default was not entered. 5 1/2 months later the wife dismissed the case. There was nothing he could do to stop her from dismissing the case. This resulted in the dissolution process having to be redone. She gained a considerable advantage form this conduct.

Before you leave the state make sure that the judgment has been entered. This should prevent your spouse assuming he or she is the petitioner from dismissing the case without your consent.

You should consider having an attorney review the papers before you leave the state. That would be cheaper than having to start over again.