Family Law

San Jose Divorce Attorney Discusses Community Property:

By Scott Sagaria

San Jose Divorce Attorney Discusses Community Property:

Equal ownership of community property assets has never been dependent upon a determination of labor or talent. Men and women are considered equal partners in a marriage in California. Each shares marital property equally regardless of whether their assets were earned by one or the other. For example, if the wife is a highly paid attorney and the husband is unemployed, the differential in actual earnings is irrelevant to the ownership rights of each.

Both marital parties are an equal agent of the partnership, binding it if acting within the scope of his or her authority and if acting for the joint benefit of the family. The California community property system adds to joint ownership the right of equal management and control. In dissolution of marriage, the court is empowered to allocate assets of comparable value to the former husband and wife to make the overall division of the gross marital estate substantially equal, and each asset does not have to be divided.

The theory behind the division of property is that dissolution of marriage should be treated much like the dissolution of a business partnership. Regardless of the conduct during the existence of the partnership, on dissolution the partners receive a portion of the assets commensurate with their respective partnership interests. The trial court may divide the community property, where warranted, by methods such as awarding an asset to one spouse conditioned upon later payments or making offsetting awards of the community assets. Even when this occurs, the spouse must receive property of an approximate equal value.

If you have questions regarding your divorce and community property issues, please contact our office for a free consultation. Our team of Family Law Attorneys can assist you with all aspects of your case. We have attorneys in San Mateo, Monterey, Fremont, Salinas, and San Jose. Please call us at 408.279.2288 for a free consultation or visit us a www.sagarialaw.com.

Full post as published by California Family Law Blog on September 10, 2008 (boomark / email).