Divorce

We have extensive experience assisting clients through the divorce process, including the division of assets and spousal support. When substantial assets are involved, property division can become extremely complex. We help clients assert their rights and interests in community property, ensuring earned assets are protected and fairly distributed.

Equitable Distribution

California law requires that property is to be divided upon divorce. In order to come up with a fair distribution of property, a court’s first step is to characterize property as separate or community property. A spouse’s separate property generally consists of property a spouse owned before the marriage, property acquired by inheritance or gift, and personal injury payments.

Community property consists of all property, other than separate property, acquired during the marriage, regardless of whose name is on the property. These assets will be divided between the spouses, and may include real property, personal property, businesses, automobiles, savings accounts, stocks, bonds, pension plans, retirement plans, and other items of value.

Dividing Marital Property

After all of the parties’ assets are identified and characterized, a court must divide the marital property, typically taking into consideration several different factors including, the standard of living of the parties during the marriage, the duration of the marriage, and other factors that the court finds to be just and proper.

Spousal Support

Spousal support, also known as alimony, is the legal term for money one partner may be required to pay the other partner after divorce. While spousal support may be awarded for life, it is generally awarded for a specific length of time. To determine the amount and duration of a support award, the court will consider many factors including, but not limited to, the income of the parties, length of the marriage, earning capacity of the parties.