Divorce Lawyer in Santa Barbara

Grounds for Filing for Divorce in Santa Barbara and the “No-Fault” Rule

Dividing Property in a California Divorce

Because California is a community property state, married couples are recognized as one entity with regard to property ownership. This means that any assets property that either spouse acquires or earns while they were married will be considered community property, meaning owned by both parties. Also, any debt accrued by either spouse while they were married is community property. The community property rules apply even if the couple resided in a state that doesn’t follow the community property rules at any time in their marriage.

If you have any property or assets you already owned before getting married, or if you were given an inheritance or gift during the marriage, these will be considered separate property, which only you own. Also, any purchases made using the separate property are likewise considered separate property. For example, if you received $20,000 from your mother’s estate and used the money to purchase a vehicle, the vehicle will be considered separate property.

Once you have sorted out what’s separate property and what’s community property, you must figure out how to distribute the community property amongst yourselves. You and your spouse can come up with your own agreement if possible or get help from a mediator. If you still can’t agree on how to distribute the community property, it will be up to the judge to decide on the matter. You and your spouse must abide by the decision of the judge.

You will need to assign monetary values to your assets and properties for the purpose of distributing them between you and your spouse. Accurate appraisals are especially necessary for real estate and costly items, such as antiques, jewelry, or art. This also applies when assessing the value of any retirement assets like annuities or 401(k) accounts. The following are basic options for splitting up property:

• Sell everything and divide the proceeds.
• Determine which properties each spouse should have.
• Have one spouse buy out the other spouse. For example, if you want to stay in and keep the family home, you can give half of the house’s value to your spouse.

Another common option is to retain joint ownership of certain property. For example, you can retain joint ownership of the family home if you have kids even if only one of you will be physically living in the house with the kids.

Spousal Support in a California Divorce

A judge can likewise order one spouse to provide alimony or spousal support to the other spouse, which could be temporary or permanent. When figuring out how much spousal support is fair, judges consider the following:

• Each spouse’s health and age
• The length of the marriage
• Income and assets of each spouse
• The couple’s living standards during the marriage
• Each spouse’s earning potential
• Each spouse’s professional skills
• The sacrifices each spouse made while married
• Debts accrued while married
• Financial support provided to one spouse for training, education, etc.
• Any history of domestic violence or criminal acts

If you need help with your divorce case or any of these related issues, contact our Santa Barbara divorce lawyers today.