California Joint Petition for Divorce (New in 2026)
Since January 1, 2026, California spouses can file for divorce together on a single court form, the Joint Petition (FL-700). You file as Petitioner 1 and Petitioner 2 rather than one spouse filing against the other, nobody has to be served, and you don’t need every issue resolved on the day you file. Unlike summary dissolution, it is open to couples with children, property and long marriages — which makes it built for exactly the couples we mediate for.
Created by SB 1427 (Stats. 2024, ch. 190) and codified at Family Code sections 2330, 2331 and 2342.5. Last reviewed September 2026.
How the Joint Petition Works
- File together. Both spouses sign and file the Joint Petition (FL-700) and the Summons—Joint Petition (FL-710). If you have children under 18, each of you also completes a UCCJEA declaration (FL-105). Filing counts as service on both of you and as each spouse’s appearance in the case (Fam. Code § 2331).
- Exchange financial disclosures within 60 days. Each spouse serves a Declaration of Disclosure (FL-140), an Income and Expense Declaration (FL-150), and a Schedule of Assets and Debts (FL-142) or Property Declaration (FL-160), along with two years of tax returns, then files proof of service (FL-141).
- Reach a complete written agreement. Before judgment, you must agree in writing on the date of separation, spousal support, division of property and debts, attorney fees and, if you have children, custody, parenting time and child support.
- Submit your judgment. The paperwork includes an Appearance, Stipulations and Waivers (FL-130), a Declaration for Default or Uncontested Dissolution (FL-170), a proposed Judgment (FL-180) with your signed agreement attached, and a Notice of Entry of Judgment (FL-190).
- Wait out the six months. The earliest your divorce can be final is six months and one day after the joint petition is filed. Legal separation has no waiting period.
Before You File Jointly: What to Know
- You can file before everything is settled. The petition asks which issues you agree on or plan to agree on. But you must agree on all of them before the court will enter judgment.
- No temporary court orders while it is pending. Neither spouse can ask the court for orders, such as temporary custody or support, unless one of you first revokes the joint petition (FL-700, item 8f). If you need interim orders now, a joint petition may not be the right starting point.
- Either spouse can revoke at any time before judgment, without the other spouse’s or the judge’s permission, by filing an amended Petition (FL-100) or Response (FL-120) together with a Notice of Revocation of Joint Petition (FL-720). The case does not close. It continues as a traditional divorce, and the original filing date still starts the six-month clock.
- Standard restraining orders apply immediately. The automatic temporary restraining orders listed on the joint summons (FL-710) bind both spouses from the moment of filing.
- Residency still applies. For a divorce, at least one spouse must have lived in California for the last six months and in the filing county for the last three months.
- It is not right for every situation. Judicial Council guidance cautions that the joint process may not be appropriate if there has been domestic violence or a restraining order.
The joint petition is also available to registered domestic partners, and for legal separation as well as divorce.
Joint Petition Filing Fees
The California Courts Self-Help Guide lists the filing fee for a joint petition as $870 — the same total as a traditional petition and response at $435 each. You may see a single $435 fee quoted elsewhere online; the court’s own guidance lists $870. If both of you need a fee waiver, each spouse files their own request. If only one of you qualifies, ask the clerk how your court handles the fee.
What filing jointly does eliminate is the cost and delay of serving your spouse. Court fees are set by statute and can change, so confirm the current amount with your county court or the Statewide Civil Fee Schedule before you file. Court filing fees are separate from our flat mediation fee.
Joint Petition vs. Traditional Uncontested Divorce vs. Summary Dissolution
| Joint Petition | Traditional Uncontested | Summary Dissolution | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Who files | Both spouses together (FL-700) | One spouse files (FL-100); the other is served | Both spouses together (FL-800) |
| Service of papers | Not required | Required | Not required |
| Children together | Allowed | Allowed | Not allowed |
| Length of marriage | Any | Any | Five years or less |
| Property and debt limits | None | None | Strict limits |
| Spousal support | Agreed by the spouses | Agreed or ordered by the court | Both spouses must waive it |
| Agreement when filing | Not required, but required before judgment | Not required | Required |
Summary dissolution eligibility is set by Family Code section 2400, including property and debt limits that are adjusted periodically.
Where Mediation Fits
We have been doing this long enough to remember when the only way for most couples to start a California divorce was for one spouse to sue the other. Inertia in family law is very real, which is why a change this overdue took this long. It lets a couple start a divorce without an accusation. As California divorce mediators, it has been a welcome change — we no longer have to open by asking which of them wants to be the petitioner and which one has to be the respondent. That question set a tone we spent the next several sessions undoing.
The joint petition gives you a simpler way to file. It does not give you an agreement — and you need a complete one before the court will finalize your divorce. The Judicial Council’s own information sheet for the joint petition lists mediators among the ways couples get there.
Kenneth and Laura Kalfin co-mediate every case together, help you work through custody, support, property and debt, and draft a written settlement agreement ready for the court — for one flat fee.
Sources: Cal. Family Code §§ 2320, 2330, 2331, 2342.5; Judicial Council forms FL-700 and FL-700-INFO; California Courts Self-Help Guide, Joint Petition. This page is general information, not legal advice about your situation.