How Do You Respond to a Divorce Petition in California?
Quick Answer: You have 30 days from the date you are served to file a Response (Form FL-120) to a California divorce petition. Miss that deadline and your spouse can ask the court to enter a default and decide property, support, and custody without you. Filing a Response protects your right to be heard and lets you state your own positions.
Being served is stressful, and the 30 day clock makes it worse. The reassuring part is that the response itself is manageable once you understand what it does and what is at stake. If you were recently served and want to protect your position, call The Geller Firm at (415) 840 0570 to speak directly with Attorney Michael Geller.
What Is a Response in a California Divorce?
A California divorce has two sides. The spouse who files first is the petitioner. The spouse who receives the papers is the respondent. The petitioner opens the case by filing a Petition (Form FL-100) and a Summons (Form FL-110), then serving them on the respondent.
The Response, Form FL-120, is the respondent's answer to that petition. It tells the court you intend to participate and states your own positions on the issues in the case. Filing it makes you an active party with a seat at the table, rather than a bystander to whatever your spouse requests.
A Response is not a counterattack, and it does not require you to disagree with everything. It is simply your formal entry into your own divorce.
How Long Do You Have to Respond to a Divorce Petition?
You have 30 days. Under California Code of Civil Procedure section 412.20, the Summons directs the respondent to file a written response within 30 days after the Summons and Petition are served. The same statute warns that if you do not respond, the court may decide against you without hearing your side.
A few details matter. The 30 days are calendar days, not business days, so weekends and holidays count. The clock starts on the date you are served, not the date the petition was filed and not the date you happen to read the papers. If the final day lands on a weekend or court holiday, the deadline rolls to the next day the court is open.
Thirty days passes quickly when you are gathering documents and deciding how to proceed, so the safest move is to treat the response as urgent from the day you are served.
What Happens If You Do Not Respond?
If you do nothing, your spouse can ask the court to enter your default using Form FL-165, the Request to Enter Default. A default means you have given up your right to participate. The court can then move forward and grant the relief your spouse asked for in the petition, often without any further notice to you.
That can include orders on property division, debt, support, and custody that you had no hand in shaping. Section 412.20 spells this out directly. The notice on every Summons states that if you fail to respond, your default may be entered and the other party may obtain the relief demanded.
One point that surprises people: the automatic restraining orders printed on the back of the Summons apply to both spouses the moment the case is served, whether or not you ever file a Response. Those orders restrict moving money, selling property, changing insurance, and taking children out of state. We cover them in detail in our post on the standard family law restraining orders.
What Does Filing a Response Actually Do for You?
A Response does far more than avoid a default. It is where you put your own positions on the record. In the FL-120 you can:
State your position on the marriage details. You confirm or correct the basic facts the petition asserts, including the date of marriage and the date of separation.
Assert your own date of separation. This single date often decides what counts as community property and how long support may last. If you disagree with the date your spouse listed, the Response is where you say so. We explain why this date carries so much weight in our post on the date of separation under Family Code section 70.
Request your own orders. You can ask the court for custody, parenting time, support, and your share of property and debt, rather than only reacting to what your spouse requested.
Preserve every issue for negotiation or trial. Filing keeps the contested issues open, which protects your leverage in settlement talks and your right to be heard if the case goes before a judge.
Nothing in a Response is conceded by listing it. You are staking out positions, not signing them away.
What Forms and Fees Are Involved?
The core document is the Response, Form FL-120. Depending on your case, you may also file:
A UCCJEA declaration (Form FL-105) if you have minor children, which gives the court the information it needs to handle custody.
Your preliminary declaration of disclosure. Both spouses must exchange financial disclosures early in the case. We walk through what that requires in our post on financial disclosures in divorce.
A proof of service. After you file the Response, you serve a copy on your spouse or their attorney and file proof that you did so.
There is also a first appearance filing fee. As of 2026 that fee is 435 dollars in most California courts, the same amount the petitioner paid to open the case, although some counties add a local surcharge. If you cannot afford it, you can request a fee waiver using Form FW-001, and the court can waive the fee entirely for those who qualify.
Can You Still Respond After the 30 Day Deadline?
Often, yes. The deadline is real, but a default is not automatic. As long as your spouse has not yet filed a Request to Enter Default and the clerk has not entered it, you can usually still file your Response and stay in the case. Many respondents file on day 35 or day 45 without issue because the other side had not moved for default yet.
Once a default has actually been entered, the path is harder. You then have to ask the court to set the default aside before you can file a Response, and you generally need a good reason for the delay. That is a motion, not a simple filing, and it costs time and money. The lesson runs both ways: respond before the deadline if you possibly can, and if you have already missed it, act immediately rather than waiting.
Should You Respond Even If You Agree With Your Spouse?
Usually yes. Even when both spouses want the same outcome, doing nothing is risky, because a default leaves the terms entirely in your spouse's hands. There are cleaner options. You can file a Response and then submit a written marital settlement agreement that both of you sign, which gives the court an agreed judgment that reflects the deal you actually made. In some amicable cases the parties use a default with a written agreement instead. The right choice depends on the facts, but the common thread is that your agreement belongs in writing and in the file, not left to chance.
The Response Is a Strategic Document, Not a Formality
It is tempting to treat the FL-120 as a box to check. That is a mistake. The positions you take in the Response, especially on the date of separation and on custody and support, shape the entire case that follows. Getting them right at the start is far easier than fixing them later.
This is the kind of first move that benefits from a lawyer who thinks several steps ahead about how each position affects property characterization, support exposure, and your negotiating position. At The Geller Firm, every client works directly with Attorney Michael Geller, who brings a combined legal and business background to mapping those consequences before you file, not after.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is the 30 day deadline calendar days or business days?
Calendar days. Weekends and holidays count. If the last day falls on a day the court is closed, the deadline moves to the next open court day.
Does filing a Response delay my divorce?
No. California imposes a minimum waiting period of six months and one day before a divorce can be final under Family Code section 2339, and that clock starts when the respondent is served, not when the Response is filed. Responding does not push your divorce back.
Can I file a Response without a lawyer?
Yes. You are allowed to represent yourself. The risk is that the Response locks in positions that are hard to undo, so many people have an attorney prepare or review it even if they handle the rest themselves.
What if I was served but my spouse and I are reconciling?
You can still file a Response to protect yourself while you work things out, and you can dismiss the case later if you reconcile. Remember that the automatic restraining orders are already in effect, so neither of you should be moving assets or making major financial changes in the meantime.
Speak With a California Family Law Attorney
If you have been served with a divorce petition, the 30 day clock is already running, and the choices you make in the first month can shape the rest of your case. The Geller Firm helps respondents across the Bay Area protect their position from the start. You will speak directly with Attorney Michael Geller, in person or virtually.
Call (415) 840 0570 or reach us through gellerfirm.com to schedule a confidential consultation.