The FC 2336 packet is the bundle of California divorce forms that lets a judge finalize your dissolution or legal separation without a trial or hearing. It takes its name from Family Code Section 2336, which allows the required proof of grounds for divorce to come in through a sworn written declaration when the other spouse has defaulted or when both spouses have signed a written agreement. Filed correctly, it turns the final step of your divorce into a paperwork review the judge handles on their own.
When the Packet Applies to Your Case
Two situations call for this packet. The first is a true default: you filed and served the petition, your spouse never responded within 30 days, and you want to move forward alone. The second is an uncontested case where both spouses have reached a full written agreement and want the judge to sign off without anyone appearing.
If any issue is still in dispute, whether custody, support, or how a retirement account gets split, the FC 2336 path will not work. Contested matters need hearings, and a judge will not enter judgment by affidavit while the parties disagree. The packet exists for cases where the only step left is the judge’s signature.
Even in a clean case, the court keeps a right to pull you in. Family Code 2336 lets a judge require a personal appearance if reconciliation seems possible, a proposed custody arrangement does not look right for the child, proposed child support seems too low, or an appearance would otherwise serve justice.1California Legislative Information. California Code FAM 2336 In a straightforward uncontested case with complete paperwork, that rarely happens.
Forms in the Packet
The exact contents shift a little depending on whether you have children and whether the case is a default or a stipulated agreement, but the core forms are the same.
- Declaration for Default or Uncontested Dissolution (FL-170). This is the sworn statement that satisfies the FC 2336 proof requirement. It sets out the facts of your case, the orders you want, and, where relevant, an estimate of each spouse’s monthly gross income.2California Courts. Declaration for Default or Uncontested Dissolution or Legal Separation
- Appearance, Stipulations, and Waivers (FL-130). Used in stipulated cases, where the responding spouse waives rights to trial, further notice, and a court appearance.3Superior Court of California, County of Orange. Judgment Checklist – Dissolution/Legal Separation
- Judgment (FL-180). The proposed judgment the judge will review and sign. Most courts want multiple copies.
- Notice of Entry of Judgment (FL-190). Officially notifies both spouses once the judge signs.3Superior Court of California, County of Orange. Judgment Checklist – Dissolution/Legal Separation
- Marital Settlement Agreement, in stipulated cases. Covers property division, support, custody, and any other terms. The responding spouse’s signature must be notarized, and the agreement is attached to the judgment.
Section 2336 also requires the FL-170 declaration to estimate the value of assets and debts each spouse will receive when community property is involved, unless a complete property declaration has already been filed.1California Legislative Information. California Code FAM 2336 Individual counties sometimes add local cover sheets or formatting rules, so check your court’s self-help website before you assemble the packet. Orange County, for example, publishes a detailed judgment checklist.3Superior Court of California, County of Orange. Judgment Checklist – Dissolution/Legal Separation
What Has to Be Done Before You File
Residency
At least one spouse must have lived in California for six months and in the filing county for three months immediately before the petition was filed.4California Legislative Information. California Family Code 2320 Miss that threshold and the court has no jurisdiction. You can prepare the packet in advance, but do not file until the clock has run.
Service of the Petition
Your spouse must have been properly served with the original petition and summons before the FC 2336 packet can move. Service means someone other than you physically delivers the documents. The server has to be at least 18 and cannot be a party to the case. A friend, relative, county sheriff, or professional process server all qualify. After delivery, the server completes a Proof of Service documenting when, where, and how the papers were handed over, and you file that with the court. Without it, the court has no evidence your spouse received notice, and the case stalls.5California Courts. Serving Court Papers Service is still required in a fully cooperative case; a spouse cannot simply sign the agreement and skip it.
Financial Disclosures
Both spouses must exchange financial information before any judgment gets entered. Each side serves a preliminary declaration of disclosure early in the case. A final declaration of disclosure is also required before finalization, though both parties can agree in writing to waive the final round if they have already exchanged current income and expense declarations and fully updated their preliminary disclosures.6California Legislative Information. California Code Family Code FAM 2105 Skipping disclosures entirely is not an option.
Honesty matters more here than most people expect. If a court later finds that a spouse hid assets or misstated income, the judge can set aside part or all of the judgment, and the disclosures are signed under penalty of perjury.7California Courts. Share Your Financial Information Without a trial, no one cross-examines you. The disclosures are the substitute.
Filing Steps and Fees
Once every form is completed, signed, and (where required) notarized, file the packet with the Superior Court clerk in the county where the case is pending. The clerk checks for completeness, updates the case number, and routes the packet to a judge.
Filing the initial divorce petition in California costs $435. The responding spouse pays the same amount to file a response, though in a true default that second fee never comes into play. If you cannot afford the fee, you can request a waiver on form FW-001. You qualify automatically if you receive Medi-Cal, CalFresh, SSI, or CalWORKs, and you can also qualify by showing your income is too low to cover basic household needs and court costs.8California Courts. Information Sheet on Waiver of Superior Court Fees A granted waiver can be reversed later if your finances improve or if the court orders repayment from a support award.
Keep copies of everything. Courts occasionally lose paperwork, and having your own set lets you refile quickly. Many self-help centers at California courthouses will review a packet for free before you submit it, which catches problems that would otherwise surface weeks later.
The Six-Month Waiting Period
Even with perfect paperwork and full agreement, no California divorce judgment terminates the marriage until at least six months have passed from the date your spouse was served with the petition, or the date your spouse first appeared in the case if that came sooner.9California Legislative Information. California Family Code 2339
You can file the FC 2336 packet before the six months run, and the judge can sign the judgment during that window. The judgment simply does not end the marriage until the waiting period expires. Until then, you remain legally married, which affects health insurance, tax filing status, and the ability to remarry. Filing early actually helps, because the court can review the packet while the clock runs.
What the Judge Reviews and What Happens After
When the packet reaches a judge, the review looks at whether the forms are complete, whether the agreement is fair, and whether statutory requirements are met. In cases with children, the judge checks that custody and support serve the child’s best interest and that proposed child support is not below what the paying parent can afford.1California Legislative Information. California Code FAM 2336 Support figures that stray far from California’s guideline formula without explanation draw scrutiny.
If problems turn up, you get a notice listing the deficiencies. That is routine and does not mean your case is denied. Common items include missing signatures, incomplete income estimates, and property descriptions that do not add up. Fix them, refile the corrected pages, and the review picks up again.
When the judge is satisfied, they sign the Judgment (FL-180). The clerk then processes the Notice of Entry of Judgment (FL-190) and mails it to both parties. That notice is your proof the divorce is final, and you will need it to update identification, change beneficiary designations, and handle other post-divorce administrative tasks. If you asked for restoration of a former name in the petition or settlement agreement, the signed judgment is the legal authority for the change; no separate petition or fee is required.
Mistakes That Get Packets Rejected
Incomplete Financial Disclosures
This is where most packets fall apart. Failing to serve preliminary declarations, omitting assets, or skipping the income and expense declaration gives the judge no choice but to send the packet back. To waive the final declaration, both parties must sign a written stipulation confirming the preliminaries were exchanged and updated.6California Legislative Information. California Code Family Code FAM 2105
Defective Service
Having a party serve the papers, using someone under 18, or failing to file the Proof of Service are all grounds for rejection.5California Courts. Serving Court Papers If you are not sure service was done correctly, it is worth paying a process server to redo it now rather than finding out months later.
Support Figures That Do Not Follow Guidelines
California uses a specific formula for child support built around each parent’s income and time with the children. Judges expect proposed support to land close to the guideline. Numbers well below guideline with no explanation get rejected.1California Legislative Information. California Code FAM 2336 For spousal support, the court weighs earning capacity, the marital standard of living, the length of the marriage, and each spouse’s ability to be self-supporting, among other factors.10California Legislative Information. California Code Family Code 4320 Run your numbers through the state’s guideline calculator before finalizing.
Filing Before Residency Is Met
Filing before you or your spouse have met the six-month state and three-month county residency requirement results in dismissal.4California Legislative Information. California Family Code 2320 If you recently moved, count the days carefully.
Confusing the Waiting Period With the Filing Timeline
Some people wait six months after service before filing the packet, thinking they have to. They do not. The packet can be submitted as soon as the forms are ready. The six-month rule only controls when the judgment actually ends the marriage.9California Legislative Information. California Family Code 2339
Tax Terms Worth a Look Before You Sign
The terms you agree to in a marital settlement agreement carry tax consequences that outlast the divorce. Two areas trip people up most often.
Spousal Support Is Not Deductible
For any divorce agreement finalized after December 31, 2018, spousal support payments are not deductible by the paying spouse and are not taxable income for the receiving spouse.11IRS. Topic No. 452 Alimony and Separate Maintenance Every FC 2336 judgment entered today falls under this rule. The paying spouse carries the full economic cost with no tax offset, so negotiate support with the after-tax reality in mind rather than older advice that assumed deductibility.
Selling the Family Home
If you sell your primary residence, federal law excludes up to $500,000 in capital gains from income tax on a joint return, or $250,000 filing individually. At least one spouse must have owned the home, and both must have lived in it as a primary residence, for at least two of the five years before the sale, and neither can have used the exclusion on another home sale within the prior two years.12Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 121 Exclusion of Gain From Sale of Principal Residence Selling while still legally married and filing jointly for that tax year lets you claim the larger $500,000 exclusion. After the divorce is final, each ex-spouse is limited to $250,000. On a home with significant appreciation, the difference can be substantial.