How long did the 6-month waiting period actually take for you?

Family-law attorney here (LA County, 16 years). Speaking generally: in my experience the six-month clock is the absolute earliest, and most cases I see finish between 7 and 10 months from service. The biggest sources of slowdown are (1) financial disclosures going back and forth and (2) the judgment package being kicked back by the clerk for small formatting errors. Both are avoidable. If your case is genuinely uncontested and your paperwork is clean, six and a half months is realistic. None of this is advice on your specific case — but the pattern is consistent.

Same boat here. Mine ran from the day my husband was served, not the filing date, so it ended up being almost two months longer than I expected. Worth checking your proof of service date.

A helpful general note: the six months is the earliest a judgment can be entered, counted from when the other spouse is served. Your own timeline depends on your court and your case — your attorney can give you a real estimate.

carmen-r (attorney) wrote:
The six-month clock starts when the respondent is served — not when you file.

This is what finally made the timeline click for me. We filed in March but my spouse wasn't served until May, so our six months ran from May. Worth double-checking your service date.