Property Division Attorney in Los Angeles, California

Property Division in California: Why is property division so complicated in California?

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Why is it so complicated to divide something in half? I get asked that a lot as a family law attorney. As we know, in California community property gets divided 50/50 between the spouses. Think of it as a pie. So we know that pie is going to get cut in half. However, what is considered inside the pie and what is considered outside the pie? What would be outside the pie is separate property. So part of the process that you have to go through in every dissolution is identifying what is community property from the beginning and what is separate property that’s not going to be divided. That’s step one. Then how big is the pie? How much is the community property worth? And that could be applied to a community property business or a house or any asset. You may have disputes with your spouse in terms of how big is this pie that we’re going to cut down the middle. We have major disagreements for example about the value that could range from thousands to millions of dollars. So that’s part of also what we determine in the process.

Then we need to look if there are any reimbursement claims that relate to the community property. We agree on the size, we agree that it’s community property, but perhaps somebody had put separate property into the community property. Well, they may be entitled to a reimbursement claim. So we need to quantify, prove up those reimbursement claims as well.

It’s not as straightforward as just simply cutting assets down the middle. You need to take into account all of those different factors.

Los Angeles, CA family law attorney Robyn C. Santucci talks about the reasons why property division is so complicated in California. She explains that as a family law attorney, I frequently encounter the question of why dividing assets equally can be so complex. In California, community property is typically divided 50/50 between spouses. Visualize it as a pie that needs to be divided. However, determining what falls within the pie (community property) and what lies outside of it (separate property) adds an additional layer of complexity. This is the initial step in every dissolution process—identifying and distinguishing between community and separate property.

The next consideration is the size of the pie, i.e., the value of the community property. This can include assets like businesses, houses, or other valuable possessions. Disagreements between spouses often arise when assessing the worth of these assets, and these disputes can range from thousands to millions of dollars. Thus, determining the value of the pie becomes an essential part of the process.

Additionally, it’s important to examine whether there are any reimbursement claims related to community property. In situations where separate property funds were contributed to community property assets, the contributing spouse may be entitled to reimbursement. Quantifying and substantiating these reimbursement claims is another aspect that needs to be addressed.

In essence, dividing assets equally is not as straightforward as simply splitting them down the middle. It requires a comprehensive analysis that takes into account various factors, including the distinction between community and separate property, the value of community assets, and the potential for reimbursement claims.

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