Helping Clients Seek Positive Property Division Outcomes
If you are considering divorce in California, you have likely heard the term "community property," but you may not be sure what exactly is meant by this legal concept and how it will impact the division of your property in divorce.
At Law Office of Melissa D. Cianci, in Roseville, our divorce lawyers are highly experienced at handling relatively simple and more complex divisions of community property. Don't hesitate to contact us to get skilled advice on your property division circumstances.
Understanding Community Property Law
California follows the legal tradition of community property. In this state, any asset that is acquired during the marriage by any means other than gift or inheritance is considered community property, meaning that it belongs jointly to both spouses. (In some other states, what we call community property would be called a marital asset.)
The community property of your marriage may include pension plans, 401(k) and other retirement accounts, real estate holdings, businesses and other investments, whether they are located in California or anywhere else in the world.
In divorce, the basic principle of the law is that community property is divided 50/50. This does not mean that every single asset is split down the middle. Community property can be divided in kind by taking its value into account when allocating other assets.
While property acquired by either spouse before the marriage is not community property, the spouse can gain a community interest in non-community property by contributing to its upkeep, and this can be taken into account during the in-kind division process.
Focusing on the Most Relevant Issues
California has no-fault divorce, and the overwhelming majority of divorces proceed on grounds of irreconcilable differences. This means that the state does not take the underlying causes of the divorce into account when dividing community property.
The misbehavior of one or another spouse during the marriage or during the divorce process is only relevant to community property division if it rises to the level of a breach of fiduciary duty. The court will not award more property to one spouse because the other had an affair, behaved cruelly or otherwise violated the principles of a good marriage.
Contact us to consult an attorney who can help you focus on the appropriate strategies for pursuing the best possible results in the community property division process.
