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State divorce guides

Divorce, state by state

The rules that decide what you keep, what you pay, and how long this takes, written from the law of the state whose courts will actually hear your case.

  • 6 states, 88 chapters
  • Every figure from a government source
  • Re-checked on a schedule

Side by side

How divorce laws differ by state

Five rules decide most of what your case looks like before you file. Here they are for every state we cover, with the full guide one click behind each name.

  • CA

    California

    13 chapters    Community
    Residency
    6 months in state, 3 in county
    Waiting period
    6 months from service
    Filing fee
    $435
    Grounds
    No fault only
  • FL

    Florida

    13 chapters    Equitable
    Residency
    6 months in state, no county rule
    Waiting period
    20 days from filing
    Filing fee
    Up to $295
    Grounds
    No fault only
  • IL

    Illinois

    16 chapters    Equitable
    Residency
    90 days in state
    Waiting period
    None set by statute
    Filing fee
    Set by county, capped at $371
    Grounds
    No fault only
  • NY

    New York

    15 chapters    Equitable
    Residency
    2 years, or 1 year with a New York tie
    Waiting period
    None set by statute
    Filing fee
    $335 uncontested
    Grounds
    No fault, plus fault grounds
  • PA

    Pennsylvania

    17 chapters    Equitable
    Residency
    6 months in state, no county rule
    Waiting period
    90 days with consent, else a year apart
    Filing fee
    No statewide fee, set by county
    Grounds
    No fault, plus fault grounds
  • TX

    Texas

    14 chapters    Community
    Residency
    6 months in state, 90 days in county
    Waiting period
    60 days from filing
    Filing fee
    $350 in Travis County
    Grounds
    No fault, plus fault grounds

Every figure traces to that state's own courts and code. Nothing here has gone unchecked since August 2, 2026.

The other way in

Browse divorce topics by state

Pick the thing you are stuck on, then pick your state. Each state names its chapters the way its own law does, so alimony in Florida and maintenance in Illinois sit in the same place here.

Getting Started

Residency and eligibility

How long it takes

Grounds for divorce

Filing Procedures

Filing the paperwork

Serving the papers

Automatic and temporary orders

What it costs

Getting the decree

Financial Matters

Dividing property

Financial disclosure

Spousal support and alimony

Support during the case

Children & Family

Custody and parenting time

Child support

Moving with the children

Divorce Types & Procedures

Uncontested divorce

Contested divorce and trial

Mediation and settlement

Simplified divorce

Wherever you file

What every state has in common

The numbers change at the state line. These five do not, and knowing them tells you what to expect before you have read a word of your own state's law.

  • No fault is the default

    Not one of these states makes you prove your spouse did something wrong to end the marriage. A few still keep fault grounds on the books, and choosing one can change the timing, but nobody is required to use them.

  • Residency decides which court hears you

    Every state makes someone live there for a set stretch before its courts will take the case, and some add a county rule on top of the state one. File a day early and the case gets dismissed, so the residency clock is the first thing to check, not the last.

  • Both sides open their books

    Income, assets, debts, all of it, sworn. The form has a different name in every state and the deadline moves, but the duty does not. Pulling years of spending back together across several accounts by hand is slow and easy to get wrong, which is where a forensic tool earns its keep.

  • Child support comes off a formula

    No judge picks the number out of the air. Each state publishes a calculation driven by income and parenting time, and a judge who departs from it has to put the reason on the record.

  • The waiting period is not your timeline

    A statute can stop a court from signing before a certain day, and some states set no wait at all. What actually decides how long yours takes is how much the two of you disagree about, and how fast the county you filed in moves.

Before you file

Questions people ask first

Which states are community property states?

Of the states covered here, California and Texas are community property states: what either spouse earned or bought during the marriage belongs to both of you. Florida, Illinois, New York and Pennsylvania are equitable distribution states, where the court separates marital from separate property and then divides the marital share on a list of statutory factors. Community property does not automatically mean a straight half each, and equitable does not mean unequal.

How California divides community property

How long do you have to live in a state to file for divorce?

It depends on the state. Illinois asks for 90 days, California, Florida, Pennsylvania and Texas ask for six months, and New York can ask for as long as two years unless your marriage has a New York connection that shortens it. Some states add a separate county requirement on top of the state one, so clearing the state clock is not always enough.

New York residency rules

How much does it cost to file for divorce?

Filing fees in these states run from roughly $295 to $435, and two of them set no statewide fee at all. Illinois and Pennsylvania leave the number to each county, so what you pay in one county can be a hundred dollars off what someone pays in the next one over. Every state here has a fee waiver if you cannot afford to pay.

What a Pennsylvania divorce costs

How long does a divorce take?

The waiting period is the floor, not the answer. Texas cannot grant a divorce before day 60 and California not before month six, while Illinois and New York set no statutory wait at all. What actually decides the length is whether you agree: an uncontested case can close soon after the wait runs out, and a contested one moves at the speed of discovery and the court calendar.

The Texas divorce timeline

Do you have to prove fault to get a divorce?

No. Every state here lets you end a marriage on no-fault grounds. Illinois repealed its fault grounds outright, California and Florida never made you prove one, and New York, Pennsylvania and Texas keep fault grounds available alongside no-fault. Where fault still exists, choosing it can change the timing and sometimes the money, which makes it a strategic call rather than a moral one.

Grounds for divorce in Illinois

Do both spouses have to share their finances in a divorce?

Yes, in every state here, and it is not optional. You swear out a statement of income, assets and debts and back it with statements and tax returns. The name changes (California calls it a preliminary declaration of disclosure, New York a statement of net worth, Illinois a financial affidavit) and so does the deadline, but leaving something off is the fastest way to lose a judge.

Florida's mandatory disclosure

How these are written

Straight from the source

Most divorce advice online is a summary of a summary, and by the time it reaches you the fee has changed twice. These guides are built the other way around.

  1. Primary sources only

    Every rule in a guide comes from the state that made it: its courts, its legislature, its own fee schedule. No law firm blogs, no lead-generation sites.

  2. Every fact carries a date

    Each number is recorded with the government page it came from and the day someone opened that page and read it.

  3. Re-checked on a schedule

    Filing fees and support thresholds move. A fact that has gone a year without a fresh check fails our build, so a stale guide cannot quietly stay up.

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