Legal Separation and Annulment in California

Yes. In a legal separation the spouses stay married, but the court can divide property and debts and make orders on spousal support, custody, visitation and child support. Only one spouse must live in California, with no minimum time, and there is no six-month waiting period. The forms and steps are mostly the same as a divorce, and a legal separation can usually be changed to a divorce before it is final.

An annulment (nullity) means the marriage was never legally valid. Incestuous marriages and bigamous marriages are void. A marriage is voidable if, at the time of marriage, a spouse was under 18 (without the required court approval), a prior spouse was still living but had been absent five years or believed dead, a spouse was of unsound mind, consent was obtained by fraud or force (unless the spouse later freely lived with the other), or a spouse was physically incapable of marriage and it appears incurable. A short marriage is not a reason. Property can be divided and spousal support ordered only if a spouse is a putative spouse who believed in good faith the marriage was valid. There is no 6-month residency rule or waiting period.