Legal Question in Family Law in California

Yes, he does not have to wait until you get back to file. On the other hand, if he knows where you are, he can't do anything in the case without serving you with the papers. Doing that overseas is possible, but you have to follow a treaty called The Hague Convention. If he knows you're coming back, it would be a lot of expense and trouble to get you served in the Netherlands. He could theoretically lie to the court, but if he does, it would be very easy to go to the court, show he knew where you were, and have anything he does undone, and he would face fines and possible criminal charges for doing it.

As for finding out if he has filed, a lot of counties now have some or all court records online. He would have to file in the county in which he has resided for the last four months. You can find the county court websites at http://www.courtinfo.ca.gov/courts/find.htm