When a California marital action begins, certain restrictions automatically take effect to help preserve the status quo while the case is pending. These provisions are known as Automatic Temporary Restraining Orders, or ATROs, and they appear on the family law summons. They can restrict actions involving property, insurance, children, and estate-related transfers. Because ATROs are actual court orders, violating them can have serious consequences.

ATROs Become Effective at Different Times for Each Spouse

The automatic orders do not necessarily begin at the same moment for both spouses.

For the petitioner—the spouse who starts the case—the ATROs become effective when the petition is filed and the summons is issued.

For the respondent, the restrictions become effective when the respondent is personally served with the petition and summons or waives and accepts service.

Once effective, the ATROs generally remain in place until a final judgment is entered, the petition is dismissed, or the family court makes another order.

Either spouse may ask the court to issue additional temporary orders or to modify or revoke the automatic restrictions when appropriate.

These rules make ATROs different from temporary orders that a spouse must specifically request through a Request for Order or another applicable procedure. The ATROs arise automatically upon commencement and service of the marital proceeding as required.

The Orders Restrict Certain Property and Insurance Transactions

An important part of the ATROs concerns property.

Once bound by the orders, spouses are restricted from transferring, encumbering, concealing, disposing of, or otherwise taking specified actions concerning real or personal property without the other spouse’s written consent or a court order.

These restrictions apply broadly to community, quasi-community, and separate property.

There are exceptions for transactions in the usual course of business and for necessities of life. However, whether a particular transaction falls within an exception can depend on the circumstances.

The ATROs also restrict certain actions involving insurance coverage. Spouses are prohibited from cashing, borrowing against, canceling, transferring, disposing of, or changing beneficiaries of specified insurance or other coverage held for the benefit of the parties or their minor children.

These provisions can affect life, health, automobile, and disability coverage.

The ATROs Also Address Children and Estate-Related Actions

The automatic restrictions extend beyond financial property.

The family law summons contains restrictions concerning removing minor children of the parties from California or applying for a new or replacement passport for them without the other party’s prior written consent or a court order.

ATROs also restrict certain actions involving nonprobate transfers and estate-related arrangements while the marital case is pending.

California law permits specified actions despite the automatic orders, subject to applicable requirements. For example, a spouse may create, modify, or revoke a will. Certain actions involving trusts or joint tenancy interests are also governed by specific rules and notice requirements.

Because the ATROs contain both restrictions and exceptions, a spouse should not assume that ordinary ownership of an asset gives unrestricted authority to sell, transfer, borrow against, or change it during the divorce.

The fact that an asset is claimed as separate property does not automatically remove it from the property restrictions contained in the ATROs.

Automatic Orders Create Enforceable Restrictions During Divorce

California ATROs automatically impose important restrictions once they become effective against each spouse. They can limit transfers and other dealings with property, changes to insurance, removal of children from California, passport applications, and certain estate-related transactions. These provisions are enforceable court orders—not general recommendations for how spouses should behave while a divorce is pending—and they generally remain effective until judgment, dismissal, or further order of the court.