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Family Court
Divorce, Legal Separation & Annulment
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This section tells you about:
If you would like to see information about a particular case or find out
about a hearing date,
click here to visit our public access Case Info website. However, you will not be
able to look up information about certain cases that are confidential,
including cases involving adoptions, mental health issues and custody
petitions for parents who have not married.
 Get
help filing out forms!
Click here to find out about "EZ Legal File" - an
online interactive (question/answer) free form generator for
Family Law forms.
- How to file for a divorce
Divorce can be complicated. We encourage you to talk to a family law
lawyer so you will know about your legal rights and the legal issues in
your
case.
This section gives you information on:
Click here to go to the Process page with diagram of the divorce
process.
Options for handling your divorce case
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Referral Resources
We cannot recommend a lawyer. But, here are resources to help you find a
lawyer for your case.
Forms
Divorce can be a complicated process. What forms you need depends on if
you and your husband/wife agree or not. Here are links to the forms you
may need:
All of the state forms are available from the
Judicial Council web site. Choose
the "Family Law - Dissolution/Legal Separation/Annulment" option on that page from the dropdown box.
You can also use a self-help
form program to fill out some of the forms you will need.
Fees
You will have to pay fees to
file your forms with the Clerk's Office.
Click here to see the
fee schedule. If
your income is low you can apply to not pay the fees.
- Court Orders
Click on the following links for help getting
court orders:
You can also visit the Family Law Facilitator
and
Self-Service Center.
- Mediation and Collaborative Law
Mediation
If you and your spouse have an agreement or think you can come to an
agreement about some or all of the issues in your case, consider mediation.
Mediation is voluntary. A neutral person (called a mediator) helps the
parties come to an agreement
on the issues in your case.
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Advantages of mediation
- You and your spouse control the pace of the process
- Your case is confidential
- Your agreement is more likely to reflect a compromise
- Your agreement can deal with your specific needs and
concerns
- There is little court involvement, and
- People are more likely to follow the terms of a mediated
agreement than a court-imposed order.
There are free mediation services in Family Court:
- To mediate about Custody and Visitation you can work
with a mediator from Family Court Services.
- To mediate about your property, child support or spousal
support you can work with the Court’s Settlement Officer.
You can also hire a private mediator. There is a fee to do private
mediation. Look up "Attorneys-Mediation" in the yellow pages of your phone
book. or contact the Santa Clara County Bar Association.
Collaborative Law
Collaborative law is another way of resolving your divorce without
going to court. It is similar to mediation, but each party has a lawyer.
Everyone agrees not to go to court except in the case of certain kinds of
emergencies.
If you are interested in this approach, contact the Santa Clara County Bar
Association and ask for the collaborative law panel.
- Children and divorce
Research tells us that children of separated or divorced parents do better
if both parents stay actively involved in their children's lives.
Remember: Conflict is not good for your children. The way you and the
other parent act affects them. The more you and the other parent can deal
with each other without conflict, the better it will be for your children.
Here are some suggestions:
- Tell your children about the separation together, if
possible.
- Answer your children's questions honestly, but avoid
saying things they don’t need to know.
- Reassure your children that they are not to blame for
the separation.
- Tell your children you and the other parent loves them
very much and will take care of them.
- Include the other parent in school and other activities.
- Encourage a relationship between the children and the
other parent.
- Be consistent and be on time to pick up and return the
children.
- Develop a parenting plan that gives your children time
and access to both parents.
- Try to never cancel plans with your children.
- Make two homes for your children with two fully involved
parents.
- Encourage your children to have a loving, satisfying
relationship with the other parent.
Here are some things to avoid.
Please do not:
- Ask your children for information about the other
parent.
- Try to control the other parent.
- Use your children to carry messages back and forth.
- Argue in front of the children.
- Discuss child support issues with the children.
- Speak negatively about the other parent.
- Put your children in the position of having to take
sides.
- Use your children to hurt the other parent.
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- How to finish your divorce, legal separation, or annulment
Declarations of Disclosure
The law says you must give your husband or wife information about your
income, expenses, things you own and money you owe (even if you do not own
anything or owe any money!). This is called “disclosure.”
The first disclosure you make is called the “Preliminary Declaration of
Disclosure.” You have to do this before you can finish your divorce, legal
separation, or annulment . Sometimes you also have to make a second, final
disclosure
You must complete and file the necessary court forms to get your divorce judgment.
This does not happen automatically.
Laws about Legal Separation and Annulment are different from Divorce laws.
Please talk to a lawyer or contact the Family Law Facilitator
or
Self-Service Center for help.
You can get a judgment by:
Remember: You cannot get divorced just by filing a Motion.
Most divorce cases fall into one of these categories:
Default
If the other party does not answer the court papers ("defaults"),
then you can get a default judgment:
Written agreement
If you and your husband or wife have an agreement on all issues in your
divorce (uncontested), you can write up and file your agreement by:
Trial (contested divorce, legal separation, or
annulment)
Sometimes it is not possible to come to an agreement with your
husband/wife. There may be issues you disagree on, or your husband/wife
may refuse to finalize the divorce. If you cannot come to an agreement
outside of court, a judge will decide the issues in your case at a trial.
If this is your case, you should talk to a lawyer. A family law attorney
can tell you about important legal rights and may be able represent you in
trial, if you want.. Know your rights before you finish your divorce or
you may lose those rights forever.
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↑ Here are the steps you need to take to finish your contested
divorce.
Step 1: "Request for Trial"
Fill out and file the
Request for Trial form.
Have someone (who is at least 18 and not involved in your case) mail a
copy of the
Request for Trial form to your husband/wife (or their
lawyer).
The person who mails the form must then sign the Proof of Service by Mail
on the back of the
Request for Trial form and give the form back to you.
Step 2: File your Request and get a court date
Take your
Request for Trial to the Clerk's Office at the
Family Courthouse or Notre Dame Courthouse. They will mail you and your
husband/wife a notice
with a court date. You and your husband/wife must go to court on that date for a
Case Management Conference.
Before coming to Court, fill out a
Case Management Conference Questionnaire.
You must bring the original form and 2 copies to the Clerk’s Office at
least 5 days before the Conference and file it.
You must also serve your husband/wife at least 5 days before the
Conference
and file a
Proof of Service
by Mail showing you had them served.
Step 3: Your "Case Management Conference"
The Case Management Conference will be a chance to tell your Judge which
issues you have settled and which issues you still do not agree about.
The judge may send you and your husband/wife to mediation or a "Settlement
Officer Conference". (Click here to go to the Process page with
overview diagram of the
case flow).
The judge may also send you to the Early Neutral Evaluation
(ENE) Program . The ENE program has volunteer lawyers who meet with
husbands and wives
who do not have their own lawyers and who disagree about how to
divide their property.
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Step 4: Mandatory Settlement Conference
If the Judge sends you to a
Mandatory Settlement Conference,
you must prepare a Settlement Conference Statement. This statement gives a
detailed and thoroughly documented explanation of your issue(s).
You must type this pleading
in proper legal form. See
Local Family Rule 6.E.5
to make sure you do it correctly. There is no standard or Judicial Council
form available for this.
When you go to your Mandatory Settlement Conference, a Judge Pro Tempore
will work with you to settle your case. You may be able to reach a full
agreement that day.
If your case is one of the very few that goes to trial, your Judge will
tell you which issues will be heard at trial, how long you will get to
present your case, and which witnesses will be allowed. You must follow
the trial policies of the department where your trial is scheduled.
Step 5: Judgment
Whether you come to an agreement outside of court, at one of the court proceedings,
or if your case is heard and decided by a Judge, you must prepare the
following documents:
- a Judgment (Form FL-180)
- Attachments to the Judgment (on court forms or
pleading paper that contain the orders for custody and visitation,
child support, spousal support, property division, and attorneys
fees, if any)
- Notice of Entry of Judgment (Form FL-190)
- 2 addressed, stamped envelopes with the Court's
return address. One will have your address; the other will have your
spouse’s address.
For help with these forms, go to the Family Law Facilitator
or
Self-Service Center, or read the
Self-Help books listed above.
After you prepare your documents, make copies for your records and file
them with the County Clerk.
- How to get copies of your divorce decree
There may be a time, even years after your divorce, that you need a
copy of the divorce papers.
To get copies of divorce documents, go to the courthouse and ask for a
copy. Or send a request through the mail.
To visit the courthouse or send a request by mail, see directions,
addresses and business hours on the
Family Court page.
To ask for a copy by mail, send us:
- Your written request
- A check payable to the Superior Court, and
- A self-addressed stamped legal-sized envelope.
To know the amount of the check, look under "Preparing copies of any
record" of our
certification and copy fees.
There is an additional charge for a certified copy. See "Certifying a copy
of marriage dissolution record - other applicant" of our
certification and copy fees.
To locate your divorce papers, the Court will need the case number. If you
do not know your divorce case number, you can try looking up your case
online by doing an index search at the Court's Public Access Case
Information website (at
www.sccaseinfo.org),
searching for your or your spouse's name ("party name") at the time of the
divorce. Generally, divorce records for the last 10 years are on this
website.
If you cannot find your case online, the Court can look up this
information for a small fee See "Searching indexes for names per year" of our
certification and copy fees
for the current amount of this fee.
Send the Court as much information as you can in your request for your
records. This will help us
do a thorough search and get you the information you need.
Mail your request, check and envelope to the mailing address on the
Family Court page. Or, bring the information to the counter at the
Family Court Clerk's Office or the Record's division at DTS (Downtown
Superior Court). top of page
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