Divorce With Respect

3 things to know about community property and asset division

On Behalf of | Mar 6, 2020 | Division Of Assets, English |

It can be tough to decide who gets what in a divorce. Trying to separate your lives into two separate piles is not something you probably dreamed of doing, but this is inevitable when you divorce. You need to take all your assets and debts and divide them between you and your ex using the laws of California.

The Judicial Branch of California explains that property or assets are anything you own with value. You can decide together how to divide your assets or the court will do it for you. To finalize your marriage, there must be property division. There are a few things to keep in mind as you plan to divide your property.

  1. Remember California law

What this means is you have to follow community property laws. These laws say that except as otherwise provided by statute, anything you and your spouse acquired while you were married is property that belongs to both of you. It does not matter if a legal title says otherwise. As long as one of you owns it, you both own it if it was bought during your marriage.

  1. Look to the money

When you try to figure out if something is community property, all you need to do is determine what money bought the asset. If it was from earnings either of you made, then it is community property. This is because all money earned during a marriage belongs to both partners.

  1. Do not forget debt

Just as all assets belong to the both of you, so does any debt obtained during the marriage. Again, it does not matter who the debt belongs to personally. You are both responsible for it, and you or the court must divide it equally.

Keeping these three things in mind can help you to understand property division procedures during your divorce. They can also help you as you try to determine what is and is not marital property.

 

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