Salinas, CA Divorce Law Firms & Lawyers

Nothing will permit you to obtain a divorce sooner than six months from the date the other side is served with papers seeking a divorce. Remember that the final judgment of divorce is not automatic. You need to file certain papers with the court to get the final.

In any divorce proceeding, you are required to have your husband personally served with the Summons with Notice or Summons and Complaint in order to proceed with the case. Your best bet is to try and locate where he currently is living at the moment so he can be served there. If you are unable to locate where he lives with due diligence, then you will have to make a motion to the court to be allowed to serve by alternative service such as nail and mail service, or service by publication if nail and mail is not possible. Before commencing the divorce you should try and locate as best as you can the current whereabouts of your husband since once you file for divorce you have 120 days to have him served.

You don't need the marriage certificate to get a divorce. I suppose you could file for divorce, but you will have to have her served in China. Have you contacted the court in China to see if you can get an official copy of the decree? Normally, you would not need that to get married either but if you aren't really divorced, you need to know that.