Legal Question in Family Law in California

You must file the response along with proof of service on your spouse's attorney if your spouse has one, or directly on your spouse if they are self-represented. Bear in mind that you cannot do the serving. Someone over 18 and not a party to the case must serve all papers in civil cases, including divorce. You can, however, have your server do the service by mail. So the normal practice is to prepare the response, have someone serve it for you (usually by depositing it in the mail) and sign a proof of service, and then file both the response and proof of service with the court.