California’s 6-Month “Cooling Off” Period
What is a “Cooling Off” Period?
The “cooling off” period refers to the mandatory wait time before parties can terminate their marital status after the Petition is served on the Respondent. These mandatory waiting periods can vary greatly from state to state. In California, that waiting period is 6-months.
In California, “no judgment of dissolution is final for the purpose of terminating the marriage relationship of the parties until six months have expired from the date of service of a copy of summons and petition or the date of appearance of the respondent, whichever occurs first.” [1]
The purpose of this waiting period is to potentially allow for reconciliation of the parties and to ensure a more considered approach to ending a marriage.
What does this mean for me if I am filing for divorce?
You should expect to remain legally married until at least 6-months and 1-day after the Petition is served on the Respondent. Meaning, you simply cannot plan to remarry during that time.
The “cooling off” period only applies to your marital status, it does not apply to the many other aspects of your dissolution (i.e. property division, custody agreements, support, etc.). Meaning, the “cooling off” period does not delay parties from resolving other matters in their dissolution.
Does that mean a divorce only takes 6-months to finalize in California?
NO - This is simply the minimum amount of time that must lapse prior to the termination of your marital status, but this does not mean that your divorce will automatically be finalized after 6-months.
Similarly, this does not mean your marital status will not automatically terminate once you pass the 6-month “cooling off” period.
What Ifs:
What if we have resolved all of the issues in our dissolution in less than 6-months?
If you are able to resolve all of the matters in your dissolution in less than 6-months, that is great! You cannot terminate your marital status early, however, that does not mean you have to delay submitting your Judgement to the court.
You can submit your Judgment as early as you are able to finalize it and simply indicate on your Judgment form (FL-180) that the date marital status ends is 6-months and 1-day from the date the Petition was served on the Respondent.
What if we have not resolved all of the issues in our dissolution when the 6-month “cooling off” period lapses, but we want to terminate our marital status?
This is not uncommon and the court has a specific procedure to execute this type of request. If the 6-month “cooling off” period has lapsed, but you have not finalized all of the issues in your dissolution to execute a Judgment packet, you can file a motion requesting the court allow you to bifurcate (separate) and terminate your marital status.
If the court grants this request, that means you will no longer be legally married while you continue to work on resolving the remaining issues in your dissolution.
There are, however, several requirements the court imposes on the requesting party in order to terminate marital status ahead of a final Judgment, so it is important to discuss these with your attorney to determine if bifurcation and termination of marital status is right for you. [2]
What if the 6-month “cooling off” period means we cannot terminate our marital status in the year we initially filed?
If the Petition for Dissolution was served on the Respondent anytime after July 1, you will not be able to terminate your marital status in the year you filed because 6-months from that date will be in the following year.
This may have an impact on your tax filing status for both the year you filed and the following year. You should consider discussing the implications of potential tax filing status with your tax professional.
Does the 6-month “cooling-off” period apply to my case if we are utilizing Mediation for our divorce?
YES - The 6-month “cooling off” period applies to any and all persons filing for divorce in California.
Couples who use Mediation have more control over their divorce timeline and can potentially move through the process more quickly to reach a final Judgment, so it is possible you will have a final Judgment prepared and ready to file ahead of the 6-month “cooling off” period lapsing. In that case, as mentioned above, your mediator can simply file the Judgment once complete and appropriately indicate that your marital status will terminate 6-months and 1-day after the Petition was served on the Respondent. Accordingly, your divorce could be completely done at the 6-month mark.
Contrastingly, even if you do not have a final Judgment agreed upon by the time the “cooling off” period lapses, should the parties wish to bifurcate and terminate marital status, your mediator can provide you with the procedural information to submit a stipulated agreement regarding the same.
Lea M. Nemeth, PC is dedicated to helping you achieve the best possible outcome for your particular circumstance. Book a Consultation today to learn more about how Mediation can benefit you and your loved ones.
Related FAQs:
Does the 6-month “cooling off” period apply to Legal Separation?
No, Legal Separation does not include termination of marital status, therefore the 6-month “cooling off” period does not apply. Please see our article Legal Separation vs. Divorce for more information.
Footnotes
[1] See California Family Code § 2339(a).
[2] See California Family Code § 2337.
