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Law Offices of Randy W. Medina, A Professional Law Corporation
Los Angeles, CA -
CERTIFIED FAMILY LAW SPECIALIST. Aggressive, Intelligent, Representation. Se Habla Espanol. (800) 387-5575
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Stolar & Associates, A Professional Law Corporation
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Sensitive, yet aggressive Family Lawyers who help people with Divorce & Custody issues. 310-288-1828
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Property and Debt Division FAQ
How property and debts are divided when you get divorced.
How are property and debts divided at divorce?It is common for a divorcing couple to decide about dividing their property and debts themselves (with or without the help of a neutral third party like a mediator), rather than leave it to the judge. But if a couple cannot agree, they can submit their property dispute to the court, which will use state law to divide the property. Division of property does not necessarily mean a physical division. Rather, the court may award each spouse a percentage of the total value of the property. (It is illegal for either spouse to hide assets in order to shield them from property division.) Each spouse will get personal property, assets, and debts the total net worth of which add up to his or her percentage. Courts divide property under one of two basic schemes: community property or equitable distribution. Community debts are divided according to the same principles. - Community property. In Alaska, Arizona, California, Idaho, Louisiana, Nevada, New Mexico, Texas, Washington,Wisconsin and Puerto Rico, all property of a married person is classified as either community property (owned equally by both spouses) or the separate property of one spouse. At divorce, community property is generally divided equally between the spouses, while each spouse keeps his or her separate property.
- Equitable distribution. Assets and earnings accumulated during marriage are divided equitably (fairly). In practice, often two-thirds of the assets go to the higher wage earner and one-third to the other spouse. Equitable distribution principles are followed everywhere except the community property states listed above.
How do we distinguish between community and non-community property?Very generally, here are the rules for determining what's community property and what isn't: - Community property includes all earnings during marriage and everything acquired with those earnings. All debts incurred during marriage, unless the creditor was specifically looking to the separate property of one spouse for payment, are community property debts.
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