Divorce is often complicated, even when both parties want to get divorced. If you have many assets, if there are children involved, or if the two of you don’t agree on everything, things can get tricky quickly. When that happens, searching “divorce lawyer near me” will turn up options. Choose someone knowledgeable in California family law and experienced in the California courts. They’ll be able to help you get through this time as smoothly as possible.
Getting Through Complex Divorce Proceedings With a Divorce Lawyer Near You
Be Clear About Your Goals
The first step in getting through all this with your lawyer is being clear about your goals. The clearer you are about these, the easier it will be for your lawyer to help you achieve them. What do you want for your children? What kind of assets do you have, and which ones are most important for you to keep? Where is there room for compromise?
It’s very important in this phase of the discussion that you be totally open and honest with your attorney. Remember that your attorney is on your side and wants to help you stay focused on these long-term goals even when short-term emotions get in the way (and in a divorce, that almost always happens at some point).
Gather Information About All Assets and Debts
To help you get through a complex divorce, your lawyer is going to need to know everything about all your assets and debts. California law distinguishes between marital property and separate property, and it’s important that you and your lawyer work out exactly what falls into which category. Unlike some states where the division of property is done based on equity (in other words, what is most fair considering the unique position of both parties), in California, the default assumption of the court is that a 50-50 split is fair.
California also assumes that any property acquired during the course of the marriage qualifies as marital property, or community property as it is known here, and that all debts other than student debt acquired during the course of the marriage are the responsibility of both parties. If you want to argue otherwise, you’ll have to be able to overcome this presumption, and that’s not the easiest thing to do.
Your lawyer will help you use the evidence to clearly prove what category all property should be in. Your lawyer can also help if a 50-50 split would be profoundly unfair in your case, but this will take a lot of evidence to convince the court to abandon. Finally, your lawyer will also be a huge help if you believe your spouse may be hiding assets in an attempt to keep a larger share of the marital property.
Community Property
Under California law, everything that you acquire during the marriage, including all income earned by both parties, including interest and passive income and any income from retirement accounts or pensions; all real estate; and separate funds, if they were spent on an asset that the two of you shared, are community property. It’s also possible for separate property to become community property. For example, if one of you had an inheritance but used that inheritance to pay down the mortgage on the shared home, that might make the entire inheritance ultimately community property. Your lawyer can tell you more here.
Community property also includes debts. All debts are divided equally just like assets, though if the debt exceeds the assets, the judge may divide up the debt according to which spouse is better positioned to be able to pay it off. For example, if one spouse was primarily a homemaker and never really pursued a career, they may have to now go to work at a minimum wage job. If the other spouse has an advanced career and is making good money, the courts are more likely to assign more of the debt to the second spouse.
Separate Property
Separate property is whatever either spouse had before the marriage and also kept separate throughout the marriage. If at any point that property was shared, it becomes community property. Other separate property includes any gifts or inheritance that were given to just one of the spouses rather than to the couple. Settlements from personal injury claims are often also separate property, unless those funds were mingled with community funds or had to be used to pay expenses that both parties bore.
Debts are mostly community property, with one exception. Student loans are separate property, normally, because it’s understood that the education the loan provided benefited just one spouse. However, the court may end up dividing the debt if the two as a couple benefited from the education or training that the loan paid for.
Talk Frankly About Your Child Custody Concerns
In California, child custody can be physical (referring to which parent/s the child lives with) or legal (referring to which parent/s makes decisions about the most important issues in a child’s life, such as healthcare or schooling). Either type of custody can be joint, meaning that the parents share this custody, or sole, meaning that only one parent has it. Just because a parent has legal custody does not mean they will have physical custody.
Be prepared to talk to your lawyer frankly about the details of your situation. What do you want for your family? What kind of a parent is your ex-spouse? Have there been any incidents of violence or abuse, physical or otherwise? Do either you or the child’s other parent have any history of substance abuse, even if it’s under control now? All these questions will help your lawyer to put together a strategy to do what’s best for you and your family.
Agreeing With Your Spouse
The best way for you to get an equitable division of the assets if a 50-50 split would not be right for you is for you and your spouse to come to an agreement together. The same is true for child custody and any request for child support or spousal support. If the couple can agree, the court will typically sign off on that agreement, so long as it’s not in violation of the law and is seen as in the best interests of your child. Coming to an agreement allows you and your spouse to retain control over your own family and future.
If you can’t agree, then the courts will make most of these decisions for you. Child custody and visitation are based on what’s in the best interest of the child and what California law dictates in cases where parents can’t come up with their own schedule. This may not work very well for you or the child’s other parent! The best way to retain the most control in your divorce is to come to an agreement, and your lawyer can help. A lawyer is a negotiator by trade and can help you to stay focused on your goals in discussion with your spouse. A lawyer also provides a buffer between you and your spouse so that it’s easier for you to talk profitably and come to a compromise you can all live with.
