In order to file for Dissolution of Marriage, Legal Separation or Nullity of Marriage you or your spouse need to be a resident of the county you are filing in. Being a resident generally means you are living in that county and intend to live in that county for the foreseeable future. There is no minimum time requirement for Legal Separation or Nullity of Marriage.

On the other hand, if you are seeking a Dissolution of Marriage (Divorce), California law requires that either you or your spouse be a resident of the county where the Petition For Dissolution of Marriage is filed for a minimum of three months, and the State of California for at least six months prior to the Petition being filed.

Example: If you and your spouse decide to divorce and have been residents of Sacramento County for the past seven months, you would file your Petition in the Sacramento County Superior Court. However, if you moved out of the family home to Yolo County, and now consider yourself a resident of Yolo County, you can (1) wait at least three months, and then file your petition in Yolo County, or you can file your petition in Sacramento County (assuming your spouse stayed in Sacramento County).

If you have recently moved to a new county and you are anxious to get things moving and you want the divorce to take place where you live, you can file a Petition for Legal Separation immediately (the day you moved to Yolo County) and then, when you have been a resident of your new county for three months, you can amend your petition to request dissolution of marriage.

Some attorneys make a note on the Petition For Legal Separation that Petition will amend the petition upon meeting the residency requirements for dissolution of marriage.

If you are served with a petition and the jurisdictional information is wrong, you have the right to ask the court to "quash" (dismiss) the petition. If this applies to you speak with an experienced divorce attorney.