Divorce Law in California: How Property is Divided

Any divorce can be difficult, even the most harmonious one. Sometimes the stress of divorce isn’t just about emotional pain or former spouses who can’t agree. Sometimes it’s just plain confusion as to what the rules are. If you live in California and are considering divorce, knowing the divorce law in California can go a long way towards helping you to get through the divorce process with your assets in tact.

Understanding the Divorce Laws in California

When going through a divorce, you should expect that your area will have its own statutes. Every state in the US does, although they also tend to share a basic background that’s largely the same. Wherever you live, you’ll want to educate yourself on the generals as well as the specifics of your particular court system. In California, this means understanding community property rules for asset division.

Community Property and How it Works

California is one of many states in the US that operates under a “community property” system. This can, and often does, have great impact on property divisions that take place after a divorce.

Community property is a term used to mean that everything the couple acquired – from vehicles to houses, to loans, to debts, to credit cards – is jointly owned by the two of them, starting on the day of their marriage and ending on the day of their divorce.
Things that pre-dated the marriage are not included in the community property assessment, unless they were co-mingled with other community property, but distinctions such as whose name is on the credit card, or who drives the car most, fall by the wayside in a case involving community property legislation.

Of course, as with any legislation, there are loop holes, and it may be possible to argue that certain things (both good and bad) in your marriage were not held communally. Some spouses sign agreements during their marriage stating who owns what, and those do hold up in court. Others can simply argue persuasively (using hard evidence and facts, of course) that the property belongs to one or the other of them, and convince the court to agree.

Now it’s up to the court to divide this communally held, evenly split property. It’s not always easy. The judge may decide that, because one spouse paid out more of her income to solve Financial Problem A, that she deserves full ownership of Expensive Purchase B. In this way the property is toted up and divided, not equally, but in a way that strives to create fairness. This makes sense, of course: things like a house can’t be split evenly between two people, so one will get the house and the other may get other benefits to compensate.

In an ideal world, the couple will be involved in this dissolution of property and things will go smoothly. Whether you’re expecting a smooth outcome or chaos, though, you should educate yourself on the rules governing your local system, and prepare yourself to answer the questions that will arise. It’s your single best step towards protecting yourself in a difficult time.

Getting Help

If you’re finding yourself in over your head sorting through the financial side of your divorce, you’re not alone. Your first step, never mind how cooperative your ex is or is not, is to get yourself a lawyer. Many people make the mistake of assuming that a lawyer is only needed to fight in the courtroom: the truth is that a lawyer is trained in the logistics of precisely the issues you’re currently facing. A lawyer can examine all of your financial options and advise you of the statutes in your area that will affect your case, so that you know what’s coming.

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