The California divorce process remains the same whether a spouse is in jail or not. California does not offer special privileges or treat the incarcerated spouse differently than a non-incarcerated spouse. With this in mind, you must work with the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation to serve the divorce documents on your incarcerated spouse. Service of documents would include any restraining orders, motions, or other paperwork related to the divorce. Read on to learn how to file for divorce in California and how to serve divorce documents on incarcerated spouses.

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Divorce Overview

In order to get a divorce in California, you or your spouse must have lived in California for at least six months. You or your spouse also must have lived in the county where you want to file for divorce for at least the three months before. Barring any unforeseen complications, you can get a judgment after six months from the date you serve your spouse with the summons and petition. Keep in mind, however, that your spouse can defend their interest in the divorce even though he or she is incarcerated.

How to Serve Divorce Documents on an Incarcerated Spouse

To serve divorce documents on incarcerated spouses, you must work with the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. They will help to serve the divorce documents. Before serving the paperwork, contact the facility where your spouse is incarcerated. In particular, ask the name and address of the person who will be serving the documents.

Documents required to serve divorce on an incarcerated person include:

  1. Two copies of all papers filed with the court
  2. Proof of service form
  3. Self-addressed, stamped envelope
  4. A cover letter asking that the facility serve the incarcerated spouse and that they complete and return the “Proof of Service” to you to file with the court. If there is a hearing set, you will need to provide the hearing date, court department, and time of the court hearing.

Once you gather the above-documents, send everything to the facility that is serving your spouse. Make a copy of the original proof of service and file the original document with the court.

If you need to find an inmate, you can use the following resources:

What Happens After an Incarcerated Spouse is Served?

Once your spouse is served with paperwork, they have 30 days to respond to the divorce petition. If they do not respond, you can ask the court to enter a default judgment. If your spouse does respond, the divorce process will continue to trial in the same way as other divorces. In this regard, the court may schedule future court dates further out to allow the incarcerated spouse time to file the required paperwork and make any necessary appearances in court.

Contact A People’s Choice for more information about how to serve divorce documents on incarcerated spouses. We can help you draft the documents you need to file for divorce and help you arrange to serve your spouse. Call us today at 800-747-1780.

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