Divorce Lawyer in Ventura, CA

The Division of Your Marital Property

In California, marital property refers to the assets and debts – or their overall value – that you and your spouse came to own over the course of your marriage. This is your marital estate, and it belongs to both of you equally. Upon divorce, these assets are generally divided between the divorcing spouses equally.

Any assets that belonged to either of you when you married will remain your separate property – as long as you’re able to keep the property separate throughout your marriage, which can be a challenge. The following two points are important to keep in mind in relation to separate property:

• Any increase in an asset’s value will likely be considered marital
• Any commingling of marital and separate assets can alter the separate nature of an asset

Child Custody and Parenting Time

California addresses child custody in terms of both legal custody and physical custody, which it calls parenting time. Legal custody determines primary decision-making concerns, such as those related to:

• Your children’s schooling
• Your children’s religious upbringing
• Your children’s healthcare
• Your children’s extracurriculars and travel
• Where your children make their primary home

Parenting time sets the schedule whereby you and your divorcing spouse will divide your time with your shared children. If you’re able to create a parenting time schedule that works for your family, the court is very likely to include it in your child custody orders. If not, however, you can expect one of the court’s standard issue schedules.

California courts base every child custody decision on the best interests of the children, and some of the best interest factors they turn to include:

• The preferences of those children who are mature enough to weigh in
• The overall mental and emotional stability of each parent
• The children’s needs and each parent’s ability to address them
• Any record of domestic violence or illegal drug use on the part of either parent

Child Support

Both parents are responsible for continuing to financially support their children throughout their childhoods, and child support is the tool that’s used. A wide range of factors go into the calculation process, but even when parenting time is balanced between both parents, the higher earner typically makes the child support payments.

Alimony

Alimony is called spousal support in California, and it is a tool that’s employed only when divorce leaves one spouse without the financial ability to continue supporting themself financially while the other can provide support.