Sacramento Property Division Lawyers Protecting Your Interests In Divorce
Although California is a community property state, property division during divorce or legal separation proceedings is not always a straightforward process. From gifts or inheritances made to one spouse during a marriage to when a couple decides to actually separate, there are many considerations that can keep a court from performing an equal “50-50” split of marital assets.
When it comes to the delicate and important area of property division, there is no substitute for experience. The lawyers of Bartholomew & Wasznicky LLP have more than 125 years of combined experience, and partners Hal Bartholomew and Diane Wasznicky are both certified family law specialists by the California Board of Legal Specialization. This means that we offer legal counsel backed by experience and a superior understanding of even the most complex family law issues. When our clients’ financial interests are at stake, we provide the skilled representation necessary to help them maintain the financial success they have worked hard to achieve.
Asset Division Attorneys Representing Professionals With Complex Marital Estates
Sacramento is the seat of state government as well as a hub of innovation, technology and finance. As such, our firm has represented diverse professionals in the Sacramento area, including:
- Lobbyists
- Real estate developers
- Accountants
- Tech workers
- Investors
- Other attorneys
These individuals often have complex property division concerns. We can determine how business interests, real estate, and pensions and other retirement benefits will be treated during divorce proceedings. We can also determine the effects that a pre- or post-marital agreement will have in a divorce.
Securing Your Future Through Strategic Division Of Retirement Assets
Our team has obtained a comprehensive understanding of the unique concerns regarding dividing up retirement accounts. We will join your spouse’s retirement accounts to protect your community share of your spouse’s retirement. We will also draft Qualified Domestic Relations Orders (QDROs) to ensure you receive your share of your spouse’s retirement.
Dividing up retirement accounts via a QDRO is a niche area of family law that our firm excels in. We have experience in dividing up all types of federal, military, state, county, public school, university and other public agency plans. We also have experience with all types of private-industry plans, including collectively bargained plans.
We will ensure that each of your spouse’s retirement plans are properly joined to the dissolution action by drafting, filing and serving upon the retirement plans a joinder. Our duty of care to our clients involves joining retirement plans early in the process of the divorce to protect our client’s community interest in the other spouse’s retirement.
Once the parties have resolved the property division, we will then draft QDROs for each plan, instructing the retirement plans on how to divide up the retirement monies. We will ensure that each QDRO is preapproved by the retirement plan, filed and then served upon the retirement plan. We look after our clients so that they are protected and will be set to receive their community share of their ex-spouse’s retirement.
Whether the retirement accounts are defined benefits, defined contribution, 401(k)s, Employee Stock Ownership Plans, Tax Sheltered Annuities or IRAs, to name a few, we know how to divide these plans and can explain the different division methods to meet your own financial needs.
Aggressive Counsel For High Net Worth Property Division Issues
Our firm routinely represents clients with substantial assets, including:
- Multiple residences
- Other real estate investments
- Stocks and bonds
- Businesses
There are nuances to California’s community property laws that can affect whether a court will divide certain property or allow one party to retain sole possession. Specifically, gifts and inheritances made to one spouse, even during the marriage, are treated as separate property. Any property acquired following a separation is also considered separate property.
In California, a marital “community” ends when the spouses have physically separated with the intent not to resume the marital relationship. Determining when a community ends is a critical part of disputes over property division.
Protecting Your California Business In Divorce Starts With An Accurate Valuation
Because California is a community property state, having a complete and accurate portrait of your finances is especially vital going into divorce proceedings. Proper valuations of businesses and other financial interests can play a significant role in how you emerge financially following a divorce.
As one of the preeminent family law firms in Sacramento, Bartholomew & Wasznicky LLP offers an extensive range of services to business executives and other professionals in the region with complex property division needs. Our clients rely on – and benefit from – our lawyers’ keen legal instincts and well-developed experience handling complex divorce cases to help them retain as much of their wealth as possible.
Our firm retains extensive contacts with business valuation experts and other financial professionals who can play a critical role in determining the value of our clients’ business interests. Whether these interests pertain to a separately owned business, a business jointly owned with a spouse or a separate business in which marital funds have been invested, we ensure that we have the information necessary to devise the best approach.
The approach we take to protect our clients’ interests will vary based on their unique circumstances. When our clients are using collaborative law or mediation to finalize a divorce, we may propose a settlement that is fair to our clients in the long term. When necessary, however, we do not hesitate to litigate in order to protect a client’s most important financial interests.
Contact Us To Discuss Your Legal Needs With Our Sacramento Family Law Attorneys
Our Sacramento property division attorneys are committed to protecting our clients’ interests at every stage of divorce proceedings. Arrange a confidential consultation by calling 916-603-2913 or send an email. We serve clients throughout Northern California.