Protecting Your Property After Your Divorce
Determining how to distribute assets acquired during your marriage fairly can be contentious and complicated. When couples try to disentangle complex assets, it can be difficult for the average attorney to handle them. This is only compounded when the estate is large or comprised of many different (and sometimes not easily valued) asset classes. Many people are concerned their spouse/partner will hide assets or not be truthful. While the Family Code has many requirements outlining the obligations of spouses to disclose all assets and obligations, together with supporting documentation, we work with our client, our forensic accountants, and other professionals to address the unique issues of your case to ensure we have all information and documentation needed to obtain the best result possible.
At Bley and Bley, our attorneys understand the inquiries to make and the nuances that exist when attempting to resolve a complex property division case. With multiple California Bar-Certified Family Law Specialists on our team and nearly a 100 years of combined experience, you can trust us to help you find a solution.
Your Divorce Is Not the End, But the Beginning of the Next Phase of your Life
Divorce is hard but it can also provide for a new beginning. To get you from the filing of a Petition for Dissolution to Judgment we will analyze the community and separate nature of your estate. Property or income acquired during the marriage through your or your spouse’s time, skill and effort is community property whereas gifts to one spouse or inheritances are generally the separate property of the recipient. California requires an extensive disclosure obligation designed to ensure that each spouse discloses all assets, obligations, income and expenses so that each spouse is fully informed to make decisions about how to divide the estate in question.
Property that is subject to characterization and allocation in a California divorce includes, but is not limited to:
- Closely held corporations or businesses
- Retirement accounts
- Deferred or incentive compensation
- Intellectual property
- Investment portfolios, including alternative investment vehicles
- Cryptocurrency
- Land and real estate
- Vehicles
- Art and personal property
Often cases will involve the commingling of assets which requires that the separate versus community interests be traced in order to be allocated. Other cases involve identifying a spouse’s interest in stock options or other forms of deferred compensation which also may have both a community and separate property element. Closely held corporations often must be valued in order to determine if there is a divisible community interest or separate property claims to businesses established. These are just a handful of issues that can arise in a complex estate all of which we have the skill and experience to handle.
Don’t Leave Your Future To Chance
Don’t leave your financial future up to chance. What you get in your divorce settlement can have a significant impact on your financial future. Contact us today to see if your matter would be a good fit for our firm and to schedule a consultation with an experienced attorney by calling 415-982-7311 or completing an online contact form.
