Short Marriage Divorce in California: What the Law Actually Covers

After a short marriage, community property is still divided equally except as Family Code section 2550 provides, financial disclosures are still required, and the six-month waiting period in section 2339 still applies, subject to its stated exceptions. What changes is how much the length of the marriage weighs in spousal support, and whether summary dissolution, a separate and limited procedure, is open to you.

You and your spouse may be in a hard spot. Maybe you married a year or two ago, maybe less, and it has become clear the marriage will not last. You may wonder whether a brief marriage gets its own rules, whether support is even on the table, and whether the two of them can settle it calmly between themselves. This article explains how California law treats each of those questions. It also covers how divorce mediation in San Diego County, or online anywhere in California, works within those rules.

What 'Short Marriage' Means Under California Law

The sections discussed on this page treat the length of a marriage as a fact that matters in some decisions. Apart from summary dissolution, discussed below, none of them sets up a separate track for short marriages. A divorce is formally called a dissolution of marriage, which is the legal term for ending a marriage through the court.

Length matters most for spousal support. Family Code section 4320 lists the circumstances a court "shall consider" in ordering spousal support, and the duration of the marriage is one of them.

Family Code section 4336 uses the length of the marriage in a second way. For the purpose of retaining jurisdiction, it creates a presumption affecting the burden of producing evidence that "a marriage of 10 years or more, from the date of marriage to the date of separation, is a marriage of long duration." A court may still consider periods of separation during the marriage. The section also says a marriage shorter than 10 years can be found to be of long duration. In a long marriage, the court generally retains jurisdiction over spousal support indefinitely. That applies except on written agreement of the parties to the contrary or a court order terminating spousal support.

Section 4320(l) adds the goal that the supported party be self-supporting within a reasonable period of time. Except in a marriage of long duration as described in section 4336, a reasonable period of time generally shall be one-half the length of the marriage, and the section does not limit the court's discretion to order support for a greater or lesser length of time based on the other listed factors and the circumstances of the parties. Duration is one factor among many, and it does not decide any outcome by itself.

Community Property and Separate Property in a Brief Marriage

Family Code section 2550 directs the court to "divide the community estate of the parties equally." The exceptions are a written agreement between the spouses, an oral stipulation in open court, or another provision of that part of the Family Code. The rule applies whether the marriage lasted two years or twenty.

Under Family Code section 760, except as otherwise provided by statute, property acquired by a married person during the marriage while domiciled in California is community property. Under section 770(a), separate property includes property owned before the marriage and property acquired after marriage by gift, bequest, devise, or descent. Whatever community property does exist is still subject to equal division under section 2550, except as that section provides.

Under Family Code section 70, the date of separation is the date that a complete and final break in the marital relationship has occurred, as evidenced by the spouse having expressed to the other spouse the intent to end the marriage and conduct consistent with that intent. Under section 771, a spouse's earnings and accumulations after the date of separation are that spouse's separate property. Property is not valued as of the date of separation, though. Under Family Code section 2552, the court values assets and debts "as near as practicable to the time of trial." For good cause, the court may use a date after separation and before trial, on 30 days' notice by the moving party to the other party.

Separate money may also go into property the spouses acquire together, such as a down payment traced to a separate-property source. Family Code section 2640 provides, in the division of the community estate, for reimbursement of a party's contributions to the acquisition of property of the community property estate. Those contributions include down payments, payments for improvements, and payments that reduce the principal of a loan used to buy or improve the property, but not payments of interest, maintenance, insurance or taxes. To be reimbursed, the spouse must trace the contribution to a separate-property source. The spouse is reimbursed unless they made a written waiver of the right to reimbursement or signed a writing that has the effect of a waiver. The reimbursement is paid without interest or adjustment for change in monetary values. It may not exceed the net value of the property at the time of division. The site's page on property division mediation goes further into these questions.

Mediation does not change the duty to disclose. Each spouse still serves a preliminary declaration of disclosure, which is executed under penalty of perjury. The timing is covered below.

Spousal Support After a Short Marriage

Under Family Code section 4330(a), in a judgment of dissolution the court may order spousal support in an amount and for a period it determines is just and reasonable, taking into consideration the circumstances section 4320 lists. That list includes the duration of the marriage. It also includes each spouse's earning capacity compared with the standard of living during the marriage. Within that factor, the section points to the supported spouse's marketable skills, the job market for those skills, and any time spent out of work during the marriage to handle domestic duties. The section names many more factors. This summary is partial, and the full text of section 4320 sets out the rest.

If you and your spouse have children, child support is a separate question. Parents may agree on a child support amount, but the agreement is subject to the court's approval. Under Family Code section 4065(a), the court will not approve an amount below the guideline formula unless the parents declare all five of the following:

• they are fully informed of their rights concerning child support;
• the order is agreed to without coercion or duress;
• the agreement is in the best interests of the children;
• the children's needs will be adequately met by the agreed amount; and
• the right to support has not been assigned to the county, and no public assistance application is pending.

The site's page on child support mediation explains this further.

Spousal support can also be worked on in mediation; the page on spousal support mediation covers that topic.

Summary Dissolution: A Separate, Limited Procedure for Some Short Marriages

Family Code sections 2400 through 2406 provide for summary dissolution, a separate and limited procedure. It is open only if all of the conditions in section 2400(a) exist when the proceeding begins, and those conditions include a marriage of not more than five years in duration as of the date of separation. The dollar limits in section 2400(a) are set by statute, and under section 2400(b) they are adjusted every odd-numbered year for the change in the value of the dollar, with the Judicial Council computing and publishing the amounts. A marriage that does not meet every condition uses the standard dissolution process instead. The California Courts Self-Help Guide explains the summary dissolution procedure.

The Standard Dissolution Process When Summary Dissolution Does Not Apply

The standard process begins when one spouse, called the petitioner, files a petition for dissolution. The other spouse, called the respondent, is served and may file a response.

Under Family Code section 2104(f), each spouse serves the preliminary declaration of disclosure on the other. It is served either together with the petition or response, or within 60 days of filing it. The spouses can extend that time by written agreement, or the court can extend it by order. There is one special case: the petitioner served the summons and petition by publication or posting under a court order, and the respondent then files a response before a default judgment is entered. In that case, the petitioner has 30 days from the response to serve the preliminary declaration.

Family Code section 2105(a) sets the timing for the final disclosures. Each spouse serves a final declaration of disclosure and a current income and expense declaration. These are due before or at the time the spouses enter into an agreement resolving property or support issues other than temporary support. If the case goes to trial instead, they are due no later than 45 days before the first assigned trial date. A court order for good cause can change this timing. The spouses may mutually waive the final declaration, but one spouse cannot waive it alone. Under section 2105(d), a waiver must be signed under penalty of perjury in open court or by separate stipulation, and it must include the representations that subdivision lists.

Under Family Code section 2339, a judgment of dissolution does not end the marriage until six months have passed from the date the summons and petition are served or the date the respondent appears in the case, whichever occurs first. The court may extend that period for good cause, and the rule is subject to Family Code sections 2340 to 2344. If you and your spouse reach a written agreement on every issue, it can be submitted to the court with the final forms, and a judge reviews them before signing the judgment. If you cannot agree, the remaining issues can go to trial.

Family law cases in San Diego County are heard by the Superior Court of California, County of San Diego. Where any particular case is filed depends on the spouses' circumstances, including where they live. General resources are available through the California Courts Self-Help Guide.

How Mediation Can Help Couples Resolve a Short-Marriage Divorce

Evidence Code section 1115 defines mediation as "a process in which a neutral person or persons facilitate communication between the disputants to assist them in reaching a mutually acceptable agreement." The mediator helps both of you talk through the issues. The mediator does not represent either spouse, advocate for either of you, or decide anything for you.

The San Diego mediation process page describes how a mediated divorce moves forward. Couples elsewhere in California can mediate online.

Mediation is confidential under Evidence Code section 1119, except as the Evidence Code's mediation chapter otherwise provides. That confidentiality is not absolute. Under Evidence Code section 1123, a written settlement agreement signed by the spouses can be admitted or disclosed if any of the following is true:

• the agreement says it is admissible or subject to disclosure, or words to that effect;
• the agreement says it is enforceable or binding, or words to that effect;
• all parties expressly agree in writing, or orally in accordance with section 1118, to its disclosure; or
• it is used to show fraud, duress or illegality relevant to an issue in dispute.

Section 1115(c) separately defines a mediation consultation as a communication between a person and a mediator "for the purpose of initiating, considering, or reconvening a mediation or retaining the mediator."

Either spouse may have a lawyer of their own. Under Evidence Code section 1129, except in the case of a class or representative action, an attorney representing a spouse in mediation must give the client a printed disclosure of the confidentiality restrictions and obtain a signed acknowledgment. This must happen as soon as reasonably possible before the client agrees to participate, or soon after being retained if the attorney is retained later. Mediation also does not remove the disclosure duties under sections 2104 and 2105.

Private mediation is distinct from the court's custody mediation. When custody or visitation is contested, Family Code section 3170 requires the court to set those issues for mediation. In San Diego County, that is child custody recommending counseling with the court's Family Court Services. Under Family Code section 3183(a), except as section 3188 provides, that mediator may make a recommendation to the court, consistent with local rules. The recommendation must first be given in writing to the parties and their attorneys before the hearing. Family Court Services states that if no agreement is reached, the counselor makes a recommendation and the hearing proceeds. The judge decides. Under section 3170(b), domestic violence cases follow a separate written protocol approved by the Judicial Council. The Evidence Code's mediation chapter does not apply to that court process under Evidence Code section 1117(b). Those proceedings are instead held in private and are confidential under Family Code section 3177.

Where there has been domestic violence, coercion or a protective order, safety comes first, and mediation may not be appropriate. If you are in immediate danger, call 911.

To Talk With Simple Divorce Mediation About a Short-Marriage Divorce

A brief marriage can still raise questions about spousal support, property and disclosures. A consultation is a place to raise those questions. Simple Divorce Mediation works with couples in San Diego County and, online, with couples anywhere in California.

To talk with the practice about mediation after a short marriage, call Simple Divorce Mediation at 858-330-1378 for a joint mediation consultation.

About this article. Reviewed by Amy J. Lass, CA Bar No. 246779. Last updated 2026-10-08.