Legal Question in Family Law in California

You are required to be a resident of the state of California for six months and living in the county where you file file for three months to commence a divorce. Service of the papers can be done numerous ways including your ex signing for them.

You will have to wait three mor months to file. In the mean time consult an attorney, get all the information ready, so that when you hit your time you can proceed.

Both previous answers are correct that you must be a resident for 6 months before you can even file. To answer your specific question, Ms. Kock is right that if your husband will accept the papers by mail and sign an Acknowledgement of Receipt declaration, service of papers can be accomplished that way. If he will not cooperate, however, then you must proceed under the Hague Convention on the Service Abroad of Judicial and Extrajudicial Documents in Civil or Commercial Matters, which provides for service through diplomatic channels via the U.S. consulates abroad. I know a good firm in San Francisco that specializes in international divorce. Let me know if you would like a referral.