> [!info] Prepared locally > Revised text and original picture are ready. WordPress save, rendered checks and publication remain to be verified. A statute of limitations sets a time limit for starting a particular legal claim or proceeding. The deadline depends on the claim, the event that starts the period and any applicable exceptions. It is not one universal period for every dispute. ## In California Family Law A family-law case can involve different kinds of time limits, including specific periods for requesting relief from an existing judgment. Those limits must be distinguished from the deadline for starting an ordinary civil claim. [[Cal. Fam. Code § 2122|Family Code section 2122]] provides separate grounds and time limits for specified judgment set-aside requests. For example, section 2122 distinguishes certain discovery-based fraud or disclosure claims from grounds measured from entry of judgment. Calling a request a dispute about an old divorce does not identify its ground or deadline. The specific legal provision must be matched to the relief requested. ## Starting the Clock and Tolling The [California Courts deadlines guide](https://selfhelp.courts.ca.gov/civil-lawsuit/statute-limitations) explains that limitation periods are fact-specific. In some circumstances, discovery or reasonable discovery of the problem affects when time begins. A discovery rule is not automatic permission to wait until a person subjectively decides a claim exists. [[Toll|Tolling]] can pause an applicable period when the law provides for it. The relevant exception and its duration must be established; negotiations or uncertainty should not simply be assumed to stop the clock. [[Cal. Code of Civ. Proc. § 337|Code of Civil Procedure section 337]] illustrates a specific limitations statute addressing certain written-contract and related claims, with qualifications that must be read rather than applied to every agreement. ## Example A former spouse discovers an alleged disclosure problem after judgment. The person must identify the available legal ground, when the relevant discovery or judgment event occurred and the specific filing period. A general recollection that some civil claims have several years to be filed does not establish the deadline for that request. ![[Files/OtherFiles/Statute of Limitations.jpg]]