Atascadero, CA asked in Divorce for California

Q: How long does the petitioner have to serve the respondent. I am the respondent and the petitioner won't serve me.

I am in San Luis Obispo County, California. We agreed to the divorce, she filed, but now won't serve me.

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1 Lawyer Answer
Andy Chen
Andy Chen
Answered
  • Modesto, CA
  • Licensed in California

A: I've never thought about it, but for regular civil cases, it's 60 days under the Rules of Court. I would guess it is probably longer for divorce cases since in family court, a lot of people are doing things themselves so the judges bend the rules more.

However, if she won't serve you, then she can't move forward with the case. It just sits there so you're not losing anything. I'd go to the court and check the file periodically to make sure she hasn't forged a proof of service of some kind (this is surprisingly common) and attempted to do a default divorce on you.

I'm not sure if SLO county has status conferences or case management conferences for family law cases (this varies by county). If SLO county does have them, then your wife will need to explain why she's filed the case, but not served you since I assume she knows where you can be found.

Andy

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