San Diego Community Property Lawyer

How Community Property is Divided Upon Divorce or Separation

California law takes the approach that property acquired by either (or both) of the spouses during the marriage while living in California is community property to which both spouses share ownership as a community (property acquired while living outside of California is called quasi-community property and is also divided equally among the spouses upon divorce). This means, for example, that if one spouse works a high-paying job for twenty years during the marriage and is able to save $10,000,000 during that time from that income as well as purchase homes, vehicles, and other items with his or her income while the other spouse does not generate income, then all of the $10,000,000 as well as the homes, vehicles and other items will be considered community property and should be divided equally among the spouses upon a divorce or legal separation. A San Diego Community Property Lawyer can help with:

• The income generated by each spouse or just one spouse during a marriage
• Any property purchased with money made by a spouse during the marriage
• Retirement benefits such as pensions and 401k plans, even where held in only one spouse’s name
• Ownership of a business, including the intangible value of “goodwill”
• Assets acquired on debt during the marriage
• Educational degrees and professional licenses

It is important to note here that parties to a marriage are free to enter into an agreement providing for the division of their separate and community property as part of a divorce or separation in order to avoid the division of property by the court, and may even do so prior to the marriage through a prenuptial agreement, but the court will only honor such an agreement if it is fair under California law.