If both you and your spouse qualify and both spouses are willing to work together to prepare a joint summary dissolution petition, then this is almost always the fastest, easiest and cheapest way to get divorced. This is available for spouses married under five years (from the date of marriage to the date of separation), with no children, with no real property, with no desire for spousal support from both spouses, and with limited community property assets and debts. See below for the specific qualifications and details.
Regular divorce in California it is an expensive and time consuming process. Summary dissolution is a fast and easy way to get divorced in California, but you have to qualify and work together. In regular divorce, both spouses generally have to pay the $435 initial filing fee, but using the Joint Petition for Summary Dissolution process one initial filing fee of $435 for both spouses is required, instead of two filing fees for both the Petition for Dissolution of Marriage, and the Response and Request for Dissolution of Marriage. That saves $435 for you both compared to the normal contested dissolution process.
Please fill out the form on the right of this page if you both spouses would like to start their Summary Dissolution Petition, and expect to hear from our firm by the close of the next business day.
In order to qualify for joint summary dissolution in California:
1) Both spouses must agree to waive spousal support.
2) Both spouses identify all of their assets and debts on joint worksheets comprised of three pages that both spouses work on together concerning their Separate Property, their Community Property assets and Community Property Obligations.
3) Both spouses must not own any real property division (including prior separate real property), and must have less than $57,000 in community property assets (excluding cars) and less than $7,000 in community property debts (excluding cars). Community property assets are those acquired from the date of marriage to the date of separation with community property funds.
4) Both spouses must not have any minor children together (and must neither be pregnant nor have adopted children under 18 years old together).
5) Both spouses must have been married less than 5 years (from the jointly agreed upon date of marriage to the date of separation). The date of separation is when one spouse first told the other spouse that the marriage was over, and that spouse took an act, or acts, consistent with the marriage being over, such as moving out of a shared residence or starting to sleep in separate rooms. You both will have to agree on the date of marriage and date of separation for this process.
6) One spouse must have lived in California for the past 6 months, and in the county where the Joint Petition is filed in for the last three months. (Or alternatively, one spouse must have a California domestic partnership that both spouses seek to dissolve, or both spouses must be a same sex couple seeking a divorce, but are from a jurisdiction, not allowing divorce.)
7) A spouse has the option to also restore their name to their former name as part of this process just as is included in the normal dissolution process.
You will have to wait 6 months for your divorce to be finalized. But with summary dissolution, in Los Angeles County, typically the clerk's office sets a review date approximately 6 months out from the date the joint Summary Dissolution Petition is submitted for the clerk to pick up this file and either grant it or reject it. Meaning that if both spouses qualify for and jointly choose this Summary Dissolution option, you both may actually be divorced in 6 months. This is extremely rare with regular divorce. This is one of the benefits of the summary dissolution process.
If you do not meet all of these qualifications or if your spouse will not agree to file this with you together, sadly you will have to file for regular divorce which is more costly and will take longer.
Our firm currently offers a flat-rate of $965 for a Joint Petition for Summary Dissolution submission *plus the $435 initial filing fee cost required by the court. (Subject to change, availability, and both Spouses being willing to utilize and cooperate with the process, and attorney’s opinion that both spouses qualify.)
In total, the attorney’s fees and costs are $1,400, of which $435 is for the initial filing fee cost, and $965 is for the flat-fee attorney fee.
If you would like to hire our firm to complete this Summary Dissolution for you and your spouse, please fully complete the form using the link on this page. Expect a to hear back from our firm by the close of the next business day.
Please note that this is not the same as the new Joint Petition for Dissolution under the new law that went into effect on January 1, 2026. That new process is available to spouses who have marriages over 5-years, have children, have property, want child support and/or spousal support, and do not meet the community property asset and liability limits detailed above. This new Joint Petition for Dissolution process more closely resembles a mediated divorce judgment, requiring both spouses to fully agree.
ALSO PLEASE NOTE THAT YOU ARE JOINTLY RETAINING OUR FIRM TO COMPLETE THIS FOR BOTH SPOUSES, SO THERE IS NO ATTORNEY-CLIENT PRIVILEGE BETWEEN SPOUSES USING THE JOINT SUMMARY DISSOLUTION PROCESS, AND OUR FIRM MUST BE ABLE TO COMMUNICATE WITH BOTH SPOUSES ABOUT THIS PROCESS. THERE IS NO ATTORNEY-CLIENT PRIVILEGE BETWEEN SPOUSES USING THE JOINT SUMMARY DISSOLUTION PROCESS, AND EACH INDEPENDENTLY HAS THE RIGHT TO TERMINATE THE PROCESS DURING THE 6-MONTH WAITING PERIOD. THERE WILL BE NO REFUNDS IF A SPOUSE EXERCISES SUCH AN OPTION. THIS SPECIAL SUMMARY DISSOLUTION PROCESS IS AVAILABLE TO ALL SPOUSES, AND IF ATTORNEY’S OPINION IS THAT BOTH SPOUSES DO NOT QUALIFY OR ARE COOPERATING WITH THIS PROCESS, ATTORNEY MAY DECLINE REPRESENTATION. THIS FLAT FEE IS EARNED UPON THE E-FILING OF THE JOINT SUMMARY DISSOLUTION PACKET TO THE COURT ON BEHALF OF BOTH SPOUSES.
THIS WEBSITE IS NOT MEANT TO BE A SUBSTITUTE FOR LEGAL ADVICE, AND IS FOR INFORMATIONAL PURPOSES. AFTER COMPLETING THE QUESTIONNAIRE, ATTORNEY WILL SCHEDULE A TIME TO SPEAK WITH BOTH SPOUSES TO DETERMINE IF BOTH QUALIFY AND BOTH ARE WILLING TO USE THIS SUMMARY DISSOLUTION PROCESS JOINTLY TOGETHER.
