Quick Answer
FL-110 does not contain the petitioner's factual claims or requested final orders; those are primarily on FL-100. Instead, the Summons gives formal notice, states that a Response is generally due within 30 calendar days after service, and prints the Standard Family Law Restraining Orders. The clerk must issue the Summons before the opening papers are served.
Start with the FL-100 Petition instructions if the Petition has not yet been prepared.
What the Summons Does and How It Is Issued
FL-110 Compared With FL-100
FL-100 starts the case and states facts and requested relief. FL-110 notifies the respondent of the case, the time to respond, possible consequences of not responding, fee-waiver availability, and the automatic orders. The two forms work together but are not substitutes for one another.
What the Filing Party Completes
The petitioner ordinarily enters the respondent's name, the petitioner's name, the correct court name and address, and the petitioner's attorney or self-represented contact information. Use the same party names and order as FL-100. The case-number and clerk-issued portions should should be left blank for the clerk to fill in. Do not sign, date, seal, or imitate the clerk's issuance block.
File It With the Petition and Confirm Issuance
Submit FL-110 with FL-100 and any required child or local forms. The clerk issues and files the Summons as part of accepting the opening papers. With e-filing, download the returned issued copy. Before service, confirm it has the court's case number and issuance information rather than serving the draft uploaded for filing.
What the 30-Day Response Notice Means
The face of FL-110 tells the respondent that a Response (FL-120) must generally be filed and served within 30 calendar days after the Summons and Petition are served. A letter, phone call, informal agreement, or merely attending court is not a substitute for a filed Response.
If no timely Response is filed, the petitioner may ask the clerk to enter default. Default does not automatically grant every request or finish the divorce; the petitioner still must submit proper judgment paperwork and the court still reviews it. The detailed next-stage guide explains how to complete and file FL-120.
The FL-110 Automatic Temporary Restraining Orders
When the Orders Take Effect
For the petitioner, the standard orders take effect when the Petition is filed and the Summons is issued. For the respondent, they take effect upon personal service of the Petition and Summons or upon waiver and acceptance of service. Once effective, they generally remain until dismissal, entry of judgment, or a further court order.
Children and Passports
Without the other party's prior written consent or a court order, neither bound party may remove the parties' minor children from California or apply for a new or replacement passport for them. The order does not itself decide custody or establish a parenting schedule.
Insurance and Other Coverage
The current FL-110 restrains cashing, borrowing against, canceling, transferring, disposing of, or changing beneficiaries of insurance or other coverage—including life, health, automobile, and disability coverage—held for the benefit of the parties and their minor children. Read the current form before acting; this is more precise than saying every possible financial change is prohibited.
Property Transfers and Extraordinary Expenditures
Without written consent or a court order, the form restrains transferring, encumbering, hypothecating, concealing, or otherwise disposing of real or personal property, whether community, quasi-community, or separate. It expressly excepts acts in the usual course of business or for necessities of life. It also permits use of community, quasi-community, or separate property to pay an attorney or court costs.
A party must give the other at least five business days' notice before a proposed extraordinary expenditure and must account to the court for extraordinary expenditures made after the orders become effective. FL-110 does not state that every bank-account closure, credit-card adjustment, or ordinary transaction is automatically forbidden; the actual text and the facts matter.
Nonprobate Transfers and Survivorship Rights
The Summons restrains creating or modifying a nonprobate transfer in a way that affects the disposition of property without written consent or a court order. It also states that notice must be filed and served before revocation of a nonprobate transfer takes effect or a right of survivorship is eliminated. Estate-planning and beneficiary questions can require individualized advice.
These Orders Are Not a Domestic Violence Restraining Order
The FL-110 orders are standard, mutual case-preservation rules. They are not based on a finding of abuse and do not, by themselves, create personal-conduct, stay-away, residence-exclusion, or firearm orders. Someone who needs protection from abuse should use the domestic-violence process or seek emergency guidance rather than relying on the Summons.
What Is Ordinarily Served With FL-110
After filing, the server ordinarily delivers an issued, file-stamped FL-110 together with the file-stamped FL-100, a blank FL-120, and any filed documents or blank response forms required for the case. When the parties have minor children, this commonly includes the petitioner's completed FL-105 and a blank FL-105 for the respondent. Include applicable local notices and any court orders.
The petitioner cannot personally serve the opening papers. A server must be at least 18 and not a party. Personal service is the standard initial method, although other authorized methods have their own requirements. See the FL-115 proof-of-service instructions for the practical checklist.
What Happens Next?
The server records how and when service occurred and signs FL-115. The petitioner files that proof and keeps a stamped copy. Service gives the respondent formal notice and allows the traditional case to proceed. It usually starts both the 30-day response period and, subject to the respondent's earlier appearance, the six-month minimum period for terminating marital status.
The parties still must handle financial disclosures and then reach agreement or resolve disputed issues before submitting judgment papers. The automatic orders remain important during those steps.
Common Mistakes
- Using a different caption or party order from the Petition
- Failing to submit FL-110 for issuance with the opening filing
- Serving the unissued draft rather than the court-returned Summons
- Having the petitioner personally serve the opening papers
- Counting the response deadline from filing instead of the legally effective service date
- Treating the automatic orders as a total freeze on every financial transaction
- Assuming the standard orders provide domestic-violence protection or decide custody
When Attorney Help May Be Worthwhile
Get individualized help before a major transfer, insurance change, out-of-state move with a child, unusual expense, survivorship change, or any action that may fall within the restraining orders. Advice is also useful if service is difficult, a deadline may have expired, or the clerk rejected the Summons.
In a cooperative divorce, an attorney can help one spouse manage filing through judgment, but does not represent both spouses. The other spouse remains free to obtain independent advice.
Frequently Asked Questions
Sources and Court References
Need Start-to-Finish Filing Support?
Simplified Separation can help one spouse in an agreed California divorce prepare the opening paperwork, coordinate the procedural steps, and work toward judgment. The firm does not represent both spouses.