Property Division

In California, property division is the process of dividing assets and debts of you and your spouse during a divorce (“dissolution of marriage”). California is a community property state, which means that property and debts acquired during the marriage are generally considered to be community property and must be divided equally between the parties, unless the parties agree otherwise.

Under California law, community property is presumed to include all property and debts acquired by either spouse during the marriage.  The presumption may be rebutted by establishing you owned the property before the marriage or acquired it after the separation (with your separate property sources), or you received the property during the marriage by way of gift or inheritance.   You may also trace property acquired during the marriage to separate property sources.

To divide community property in a divorce case, you and your spouse must first identify and value all of your assets and debts, either through mutual agreement or through the discovery process.  Generally, this process is called the disclosure process and begins with the service of your “Preliminary Declaration of Disclosure.”  During the disclosure process, you and/or your spouse may need to obtain appraisals or expert opinions to determine the value of certain assets, such as real estate or business interests.

Once the assets and debts have been identified and valued, you and your spouse must work together to divide them in a way that is fair and equitable. If you are unable to reach an agreement on the division of property, the court may schedule a trial to hear evidence and make a decision based on the legal principles of community property and the best interests of you and your spouse.