Debt Division During Divorce

Property division in a divorce is almost always paired with the division of community debt. Since California is a community property state, upon divorce, it is the net value of the marital community that is being divided, not just the assets. The net value of your marital community would be the total sum of community assets minus the to sum of community debts. This can be determined by both spouses…

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How is a Child Support Order Modified?

Child support is often a long commitment, usually lasting until your child turns 18 or stops attending high school full time. However, child support is calculated off of a standard formula as set forth by the State of California. It is based mainly off of parental income and residential time, although these both fluctuate throughout the course of a child’s upbringing. Significant changes in income or residential time may warrant…

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What is a Schedule of Assets and Debts?

As part of a divorce, both parties will be required to fill out and file a Schedule of Assets and Debts. Dividing the assets and debts in a marriage can be fairly complicated. One of the best organizing measures you can take to make it easier is to properly fill out your Schedule of Assets and Debts and then, on paper and in court, it will be clear where the…

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What Happens When Spousal Support is Not Paid?

Spousal support is an important part of many divorces. When one spouse was not working during the marriage or has a significantly smaller income or earning capacity, spousal support is often needed to help them maintain a similar style of living they grew accustomed to during the marriage. If there are still minor children at home, this is necessary to ensure their lives are not disrupted needlessly by the divorce….

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What Does Child Support Cover?

Caring and providing for your child is a requirement of all parents, regardless of separation or divorce. To ensure no parent walks away from a divorce without the obligation to financially provide for their child, child support is ordered in every divorce case, unlike spousal support, which isn’t always necessary. The State of California has set forth a standard calculation to determine basic child support amounts. This calculation takes heavily…

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How Does a Legal Separation Differ from a Divorce?

When couples run into hard times and can no longer work things out, they have a few options. For some couples, divorce is the only option. For others, legal separation meets their immediate needs of physical separation from their spouse without the permanency or ramifications of divorce. A divorce is a permanent dissolution of a marriage. A legal separation is a temporary or permanent separation but does not result in…

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How Can a Premarital Agreement Help Me?

Marriage is not just a piece of paper, despite what current debates over same-sex marriage says; it is a joining of two lives into one. You may not envision yourself ever needing the protection of a premarital agreement, also sometimes called a prenuptial agreement or “prenup”, at the time of your marriage. Many people won’t need that extra protection but a growing percentage of marriages will. If you have significant…

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Is Gifted Jewelry Considered Community Property?

Husbands often give gifts to their wives before and during the marriage. One of the most valuable, and perhaps most sentimental of gifts, will be jewelry. When couples divorce, personal belongings, property and other assets and debts all have to be divided. Any asset, like a diamond necklace, given to a wife by a husband is subject to California’s community property rule. This rule, in theory, mandates that asset be…

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