In a California divorce, even if the parties agree, a judge has to approve the division of property and debts through an order. You don’t necessarily have to go to court because a judge could approve an agreement between you and your spouse. If the parties don’t agree, the judge can make a determination for you at a hearing or a trial. Information in this article will help you better understand https://selfhelp.courts.ca.gov/divorce/property-debtsproperty and debt division in a California divorce with information sourced from online resources provided atx.
- What is property?
- Property has a formal definition, but in general it is anything that you can own, buy or sell. This includes real estate, bank accounts, life insurance, retirement and more.
- What are the categories of property and debts?
- Community property is generally what you own together during your marriage and the debts that you owe together during your marriage.
- Separate property is generally what you each owned individually before you were married or after you separated and any gifts or inheritance or any debts you incurred before or after your marriage.
- Why is the date of separation important for categorizing assets and debts?
- The date of separation is important because generally, from that day forward, what you or your spouse earned or loans that you take out are no longer community property.
- What are the rules for the date of separation?
- The separation date is the day that one of you let the other one know (by actions or words) that they wanted to end the marriage, provided that after that day, your or their actions were consistent with wanting the marriage to be over.
- How can I tell if something is community property?
- Generally, community property is anything you earned while married, anything you bought while married and debt that you incurred while married.
Consult the Law Office of David Knecht
Property and debt division is one of the most important aspects of a divorce for most people. The information in this article is very general, but an experienced family law attorney can help you make your case to get the property to which you are entitled and fight to prevent your being saddled with debt that isn’t yours. Please contact us at the Law Office of David Knecht. We have extensive experience with divorce and family law issues and can answer your questions. Call us at 707-451-4502.
