Since January 1, 2026, California spouses have been able to start a divorce or legal separation with a single shared filing. Senate Bill 1427 created the joint petition: both spouses sign one petition, file it together, and enter the case as Petitioner 1 and Petitioner 2.
For couples who expect to resolve their divorce by agreement, it offers a cooperative way to begin. It also comes with rules that shape the rest of the case, and those rules are easiest to weigh before either spouse signs.
How a Joint Petition Starts the Case
In a standard California divorce, one spouse files a petition and has it formally served on the other, who then files a response. A joint petition replaces those first steps. Both spouses sign the Joint Petition (form FL-700) and submit it with the completed joint summons (form FL-710). Couples with children together under 18 also attach a Declaration Under Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act (form FL-105) from each spouse. Under Family Code section 2331, that filing counts as service on both spouses and as a general appearance by each of them.
Neither the Petitioner 1 nor the Petitioner 2 label gives a spouse a legal advantage, as form FL-700 states. On family law forms that still use the older labels, Petitioner 1 fills in the petitioner line and Petitioner 2 the respondent line.
One filing still carries both spouses’ filing fees. The California courts currently list a combined fee of $870, and either spouse who cannot afford it can apply for a fee waiver. Check the California Courts Self-Help Guide for the current amount before filing.
The court’s standard family law restraining orders bind both spouses from the day they file. While the case is open, neither spouse may take the children out of California, transfer or hide property, or change insurance held for the family without the other spouse’s written consent or a court order. Transactions in the usual course of business and spending for the necessities of life are exempt from the property restriction. The joint summons lists the complete terms.
Which Couples Can File Jointly
The joint petition has no limits on the length of the marriage, the size of the estate, or whether the couple has children. That sets it apart from summary dissolution, California’s older simplified process, which the courts describe as available to couples married five years or less who have no children together and little property or debt. Registered domestic partners can use the joint petition as well.
For a divorce, the general residency rule applies: at least one spouse must have lived in California for the past six months and in the filing county for the past three. Different rules can apply to California-registered domestic partnerships and to certain same-sex marriages.
The deciding requirement is agreement. Couples do not need a finished settlement on the day they file, but they must agree, or plan to agree, on every issue in the case. By the end, they will need a written agreement on the date of separation, spousal support, their property and debts, and attorney fees and costs, plus custody and parenting time for minor children and child support where it applies.
The date of separation anchors two other terms. A spouse’s earnings and accumulations after that date are separate property under Family Code section 771, which affects property division. The same date fixes the length of the marriage for spousal support purposes.
The Six-Month Clock and Financial Disclosures
Filing together starts California’s six-month waiting period for divorce. The earliest date the marriage can end is six months and one day after the spouses file. The judgment and the notice of entry of judgment state the date marital status ends, which can fall later than the date the court enters judgment. A legal separation has no waiting period.
Financial disclosure works the same way it does in any divorce. Within 60 days of filing, each spouse serves the other with a preliminary declaration of disclosure, which includes an income and expense declaration, a schedule of assets and debts or a property declaration, and tax returns from the past two years. Spouses cannot waive the preliminary disclosure. They can waive the final disclosure by both signing a Stipulation and Waiver of Final Declaration of Disclosure (form FL-144) that meets the waiver requirements.
For households with stock awards, a business, or a home bought before the marriage, the disclosures supply the figures the financial terms depend on. Complete, documented values give both spouses a sound basis for the agreement they sign.
Can Either Spouse Ask the Court for Orders Along the Way?
On the joint track, the court makes its orders at the end of the case, in a judgment based on the spouses’ agreement. Under Family Code section 2342.5, a spouse who files a request for order, the usual way to ask for temporary child support, temporary spousal support, or custody orders, must leave the joint process first or at the same time. The same applies to a request to set a trial date. Either spouse can still use formal discovery to request documents and information, though a motion to compel that discovery also ends the joint process.
A joint petition fits best when both spouses can manage the household budget, the children’s schedule, and shared bills by agreement for the months the case is open.
What Happens If One Spouse Changes Course
Either spouse can revoke the joint petition at any time before the court enters judgment, without the other spouse’s consent or the court’s permission. The spouse who revokes files a Notice of Revocation of Joint Petition (form FL-720) along with an amended petition (Petitioner 1) or an amended response (Petitioner 2) in the same case, and has the papers served on the other spouse. The other spouse then has 30 days to file and serve their own amended pleading.
The case keeps its case number and continues as a standard divorce. The original filing date still governs all relevant deadlines, including the six-month waiting period, so the time already spent counts. The standard restraining orders stay in effect.
When a Standard Petition Is the Better Start
The Judicial Council’s information sheet advises that the joint process may not be right where there has been domestic violence or a restraining order. A standard petition lets either spouse ask the court for temporary custody, support, and other orders from the start. Either spouse can also request a domestic violence restraining order at any time, whether or not a divorce case is open.
A standard petition also suits spouses who already know they disagree on a major issue, such as a parenting schedule or whether a business is community property. Filing jointly and revoking later remains an option, though revoking adds a second round of filings and service.
Having Your Own Lawyer in a Joint Case
Each spouse can have their own attorney in a joint petition case, and form FL-700 includes a signature line for each spouse’s lawyer. An attorney can help a client decide whether the joint track suits their situation, prepare and review financial disclosures, negotiate the terms, and draft the agreement and judgment. If the case converts to a standard divorce, the same attorney can continue through temporary orders, mediation, and trial.
Meghan Herning handles discovery, mediation, and trial in divorce, custody, support, and property cases, including those with complex finances, in family courts across all nine Bay Area counties. She works with clients directly in English, Spanish, and Portuguese.