What Counts As Community Property in California?
When a couple starts the down the road of divorce, one of the greatest concerns is the division of community property.
When a couple decides to utilize the collaborative divorce process, each client agrees that they will share all financial documentation freely and transparently. By agreeing to this, a couple can come to an amicable divorce agreement in a cost and time-effective manner that aims to stay out of court and keep the family unit intact.
Often our clients do not clearly understand what is considered community property in the state of California. Asset division can be complex. Through the use of a neutral financial professional, trained in collaborative divorce, asset division can be a process of educating each party as well as to help determine the best path forward for both parties.
In California, real or personal community property is simply property that you and your partner acquired after you were legally married, be it over a few months or several years. That is property acquired with your earnings after marriage. This includes but is not limited to real property, vehicles, investments, bank accounts, stocks, business investments, rental properties – basically anything of monetary value that can be bought or sold in one form or another.
We always suggest working with a financial neutral during your collaborative divorce process – this will help both clients understand what community property will be divided before signing the divorce agreement.
The Collaborative Practice of San Diego is a nonprofit, multi-disciplinary referral network of independent professionals of attorneys, mental health professionals and financial advisors working together to learn, practice, and promote Collaborative processes for problem-solving and the peaceful resolution of family law issues in regard to co-parenting, with an eye toward preserving the emotional, as well as the financial and tax issues of the family.
Contact us today to learn how to develop a collaborative separation agreement to help you and your spouse amicably divorce and keep your family unit intact.
Note: This information is general in nature and should not be construed as legal/financial/tax/or mental health advice. You should work with your attorney, financial, mental health or tax professional to determine what will work best for your situation.
