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FL-315Mandatory

Request or Response to Request for Separate Trial

California · Judicial Council of California · Effective January 1, 2018

This form is used to ask the court to hold a separate trial to decide one specific issue before deciding all the other issues in a case. It can also be used to answer or respond to someone else's request for a separate trial.

The court describes it as: Ask the court for a trial to decide one important issue before all other issues in your case. This can also be used to respond to a request for separate trial.

Open the official PDFfrom Judicial Council of California

Where this fits in a case

Respond

Stage: Respond

This form is used in family law cases when one or both parties want the court to decide a single, important issue—like property division or custody—at a separate time from the rest of the case.

Either party may file.

Common questions

Who fills out this form?
This form can be filled out by either the petitioner or the respondent party in the case.
What does 'bifurcate' mean in this form?
The form mentions that 'bifurcate' means the court can separate or divide the issues in the case for separate trials.
Does this form require filing fees?
The provided text does not mention any filing fees associated with submitting this form.

Revision history

No changes recorded since we started tracking this form on October 9, 2026. The current version took effect January 1, 2018.

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