Divorce in it itself is challenging. One difficult part of divorce includes the division of property. For this reason, it is important to have strong experienced help at your side. Patrick Baghdaserians is a Pasadena property division lawyer and family law specialist who also works in the Los Angeles area. Patrick Baghdaserians has over a decade of experience and is someone you want on your side when dealing with the division of property to ensure the process is fair and your rights are protected.
The term “property” in the family code includes real and personal property and any interest therein. There are several types of property including:
In California, all property that was acquired during the marriage by a married person is either community property or separate property. Community property is all property acquired by a California domiciliary during the marriage that is not specified to be separate property. Separate property is all property acquired before the marriage as well as:
In some cases, property acquired during the marriage can still be separate property. Usually, this occurs when the property is acquired by one spouse by that spouse’s separate funds. Generally, the property has been deemed either community or separate based on the time of acquisition. The term “acquired” can mean different things. It can either be when the property was actually purchased, for example, the actual time an automobile was purchased. In addition, “acquired” can also mean over a period of time. For example, over a period of time worked to earn retirement benefits.
Quasi-community property can be either real or personal property. This is a property that either spouse acquired while domiciled outside of California that would have been the community property if it was acquired while domiciled in California. Quasi-marital property is property acquired by parties who have an invalid marriage. If not for this invalid marriage, the property would have been the community or quasi-community property. However, the property is considered quasi-marital if either party can be considered a putative spouse. A putative spouse is one who had a good-faith belief that the marriage was actually valid.
When settling property division during divorce, there are many financial factors that are considered. Some of these factors include:
There are various circumstances in which property that would typically be considered community property in a marriage may be considered separate property, and will thus not be subject to property division when a marriage ends.
For example, perhaps a married couple entered into a pre-marital or post-marital agreement. There are many smart reasons for doing so. One common reason to enter into such an agreement is to specify that certain property will remain separate instead of being regarded as community property.
At Baghdaserians Law Group, we can help you draft and enter into such an agreement if you’re getting married soon or have already done so. If your marriage is ending, we can show that an existing pre-marital or post-marital agreement is enforceable, citing it to prevent you from losing assets that such an agreement is meant to protect. On the other hand, if your spouse is misinterpreting a pre- or post-marital agreement to keep property that should be subject to division, we can show why they are in the wrong.
Divorces can be messy. Although hiring a skilled Psadena divorce lawyer can theoretically help you minimize much of the stress that a divorce could potentially involve, during such an emotionally fraught experience, you might be tempted to act rashly, disposing of community property to ensure your soon-to-be ex doesn’t receive it.
This is a mistake that can cost you. At Baghdaserians Law Group, one of our goals is to ensure our clients thoroughly understand what they can and can’t do with community property if they have any questions about these matters.
Specific laws and rules you should be aware of include the following:
Property that was originally considered separate property can become community property in a marriage through a title change. For example, perhaps you bought a vehicle before getting married. After getting married, you might have added your spouse’s name to the title. The vehicle may now be considered community property as a result.
It’s very important to thoroughly understand these issues and nuances when getting a divorce. Once more, if you have any questions about what types of transactions you can and can’t enter into (such as borrowing against a piece of property) before your divorce is finalized, speak with your lawyer. An experienced Pasadena property division attorney can clarify what may otherwise be confusing matters.
Overall, the process of marriage dissolution can be very overwhelming and stressful, and issues regarding the division of property can make the process much more complicated. Therefore, when deciding who to turn to it is important to have someone with experience on your side when dealing with property division. Patrick Baghdaserians is an experienced Pasadena property division lawyer and family law specialist who has dealt with an enormity of property division cases in his over a decade of experience. Regardless of the reason, divorce is challenging, do not make the process even more difficult on yourself and schedule a consultation with Patrick Baghdaserians.
We serve clients throughout California including, but not limited to, those in the following localities: Los Angeles County including Arcadia, Baldwin Park,
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