Divorce in california: does this sound right to you?

let’s call her katie. katie is 28 and was married for 4 years to mitch. mitch is an alcoholic. katie finally left him and filed for divorce.

katie took him the papers to sign to complete the process. he didn’t sign and didn’t sign. she kept after him until he eventually told her he’d lost them.

now she is in limbo. she is still legally married. she says she can’t afford to pay a lawyer again so she has to do the paperwork herself. also she doesn’t have $500 for the filing fee.

this is her story. can it be true? it doesn’t make sense to me that a deadbeat could stymie the process just by failing to sign or that she would have to start all over again if one set of papers goes missing.

i know nothing about divorce law or process, but i have an interest in this young woman. if you are knowledgeable, can you shed any light on katie’s situation?