Divorce Lawyers and Family Law Attorneys in Ventura County, California
Division of Property in Ventura County, California
There are several objectives of the divorce process in California, one of them is to divide your community and personal property, which is called “property division“. Property includes almost anything such as houses, household goods, businesses, stocks, and pensions. In California, we divide property according to community property law. All property that is acquired by you or your spouse during marriage will be divided between you and your spouse equally. The process to determine the amount of property that must be divided and what property is considered a marital asset, establishing a property division agreement between the spouses could be long, disputable, and stressful.
Community Property and Separate Property
California is a “community property” state. This means that all property and debt accumulated during the marriage is considered community property and subject to equitable division between the divorcing spouses. You should be concerned about protecting the value of investment property during the division of marital assets if you are planning for a divorce in California. This includes any investment property such as insurance, stocks, bonds, mutual funds, retirement accounts, vacation properties and other real estate. In a community property state, equal ownership also applies to debts, which means both spouses are equally liable for debts including unpaid balances on credit cards, home mortgages and car loan balances. However, the separate property is not required to be divided during a divorce process in
Ventura County California. Separate property includes the following:
- property one spouse owned before the marriage
- gifts received by one spouse before or during the marriage
- inheritances received before or during the marriage
Prenup in Ventura County, California
There is also possibility to opt out of the California community property system by entering into a valid prenuptial agreement. A prenuptial agreement, often referred to as a prenup, is a written contract created by two people before they are married. A prenup typically lists all of the property each person owns (as well as any debts) and specifies what each person’s property rights will be after the marriage. But the prenup can’t negatively affect a child’s right to child support, or take away a court’s power to control child custody and visitation after marriage.
If you have questions about fair property division in your divorce, the Ventura County, California divorce attorneys at the Law Offices of Cathleen E. Norton will work diligently with you to help ensure that all of your marital property is valued and distributed correctly. Call us today at (310) 300-4021.
