Orange County Division of Martial Property Lawyer

Newport and Huntington Beach Orange County – Division of Marital Property Lawyers-Equitable Distribution – Marital Property – Asset Valuation

Based in Southern California, the property division lawyers at Wilkinson & Finkbeiner, LLP, provide personal service, attention, and professional representation to men and women throughout southern California and Orange County concerning the confirmation, division and distribution of marital and separate assets.

We also assist clients with post-divorce (post-judgment) issues regarding the discovery and division of undisclosed (omitted) assets, such as hidden bank or retirement accounts, undeclared real estate, and collectibles or other personal property (cars, boats, guns, antiques, art, etc.).

Skilled Orange County Property Division Lawyer

California is a “community property” state, which means that assets and debts acquired by one or both spouses during marriage are generally the joint property of both spouses equally, with some exceptions.  Assets and debts acquired by either spouse before marriage, after the date of separation, or by gift or inheritance are not community property unless those properties are transmuted into community property.

Review of Disclosure Forms.

A family law or divorce attorney’s first step in analyzing a case is to work from the Schedule of Assets and Debts form, which is filled out by both parties during the “disclosure” process.  Our attorneys provide this form to all new clients immediately so they can begin to formulate the list of assets and debts to complete the form in a timely fashion.  This speeds up the likelihood of prompt resolution to the case.  The law requires the form to be filled out fairly quickly anyway, and parties are required to update and augment the form during the course of the divorce case if the facts require such.  The Schedule of Assets and Debts form contains a complete list of all assets and debts owned by the parties, including both community and separate property.  Since the disclosures are signed under penalty of perjury, it is important that the form be completed honestly and completely.

Is it Property?

Our Orange County property division lawyers will assist you with every issue surrounding valuation and distribution of marital assets, including marital property such as the following:

-Marital or family residence

-Other real estate holdings including investment properties

-Business interests, including interests in family businesses and closely-held corporations

-Stock options and deferred compensation

-Retirement plans (401(k), IRA, pensions, military, CALPERS, CALSTERS, etc.)

-Collectibles

-Insurance policies and insurance proceeds

-Inheritances, gifts, devises (although these might likely be separate in nature)

-Personal property, including furniture, furnishings, and electronics

-Pets (dogs, cats, etc.)

Examples of items that have been held to be non-property include creditworthiness, goodwill in businesses, and certain unvested pension benefits.

Determining which assets are community property, and thus subject to division under California’s community property laws, and which assets are separate property can often be a difficult task. We have the experience, skill, and understanding to assist you with characterizing such assets.  The California Family Code has very detailed provisions relating to characterization and division of property resulting from a marital relationship.  There are also increasingly technical and relevant appellate cases that interpret these Family Code sections.  Hiring an experienced Orange County divorce attorney at Wilkinson & Finkbeiner, LLP will help you gain an advantage in your case.  We service all geographical areas of Orange County, California, and litigate in the family law courts located at the Lamoreaux Justice Center in Orange, and the Family Law Center in Santa Ana.

Determining the Character of Property and Other Preliminary Questions

Your attorney’s analysis of your case involves determining the character of property and discussing whether any outside influences may apply to such characterization.  The following are questions you should consider answering and immediately informing your attorney if any of these apply or may apply to your case:

-Whether the parties entered into a premarital, or prenuptial, agreements

-Whether the parties entered into post-nuptial or community property agreement after the date of marriage

-How title was taken for various properties

-Whether either party is entitled to reimbursement of his or her separate property

-Whether either party signed over property to the other during marriage

-Whether a breach of fiduciary duty occurred as a result of a transaction during marriage

-Whether community property was contributed to separate property

Determining the character of property can be a highly technical and time-consuming endeavor.  Property can be community, quasi-community, separate, or combination (mixed) character.  Our attorneys are experienced in analyzing property and determining the nature of property according to the law.  Time of acquisition of an asset or debt is an important initial question.  Assets and debts acquired during marriage are presumptively community in nature.  Assets acquired before marriage and by gift, bequest, devise or inheritance are separate in nature, and generally include the increase in value, or appreciation, of those properties.  Of course, there are exceptions to these general rules, such as where assets are commingled or transmuted.  While these concepts may seem quite straightforward, in most cases the characterization of assets is very complicated.

Date of Separation

The date of separation is a legal term of art with important significance.  The date of separation occurs when spouses physically separate from each other and one spouse subjectively intends to end the marital relationship and does an act to objectify his or her intent.  The date of separation is important in all marital dissolution and divorce cases because the acquisition of assets or debts after the date of separation by either spouse will be considered their separate property.  For example, contributions to 401(k) retirement accounts, earnings, purchases of vehicles and other assets acquired through post-separation earnings are separate property.  Importantly, post-separation acquisition of debt is an important issue in many divorce matters.  For example, credit card indebtedness acquired by one party after the date of separation should be assigned to the acquiring spouse, regardless of whether the debt was incurred on a credit card in joint names.

Asset Valuation

During most divorce proceedings it is necessary to value items of community, separate or mixed property.  This may be done by the testimony of either party based on his or her personal knowledge of the item, through a party’s research using tools such as Kelly Blue Book, or through expert testimony or reports.

Either party may offer their own expert’s testimony pertaining to the value of an asset or obligation.  Alternatively, courts may appoint an expert pursuant to Evidence Code 730 to act on the court’s behalf to value an item of personal or intellectual property, or business interests.  Such an appointed expert’s report is submitted to the court upon agreement between the parties, or upon the motion of either party, and is subject to cross-examination by either party.

Typically, in proceedings involving the division of high-value community estates, valuation experts can be extremely helpful.  For example, experts may be appointed to value items of personal property including jewelry, artwork, or antiques.  Real estate experts and appraisers can provide valuable information regarding the value of real property.

Depending on the circumstances involved in your matter, consultation with an expert attorney in the early stages can be invaluable tool in the preparation of the overall litigation strategy.

Business Interests and Valuation

Divorce cases involving the valuation and division of business interests can be extremely complicated not only because businesses may be inherently complicated to value, but because self-employed spouses may cause litigation to be more confusing or protracted due to child support or spousal support issues.

There is no steadfast valuation rule for the courts to apply to valuing business interests.  Of course, the financial records of businesses including tax returns, profit and loss statements, balance sheets, customer invoices, financial investments, and so forth are important pieces of information.

Generally, courts apply either the marketable (fair market value) rule or investment value rule to arrive at a valuation figure.  Other standards of value are not prohibited.

Deferred Compensation

Deferred compensation assets in marital dissolution proceedings can be divided by the court if they are community in nature.  Deferred compensation includes pension plans, government including military pensions, and stock options for example.  Experts are often needed to assist in valuing these assets.

Often it is prudent practice to file a joinder motion to ensure that the plan administrator is cordoned into the family litigation when a deferred compensation package exists and is under the family court’s jurisdiction.

Finally, many deferred compensation assets are divided in divorce proceedings using the Time Rule, and a specific order is created to effectuate the division of such assets.  The specific document utilized by parties is referred to as a Qualified Domestic Relations Order, or QDRO.

Contact an Orange County Property Division Lawyer

For further information or to discuss the valuation and division of your marital assets, or to determine if an asset is considered marital property, we invite you to schedule a free confidential consultation with an experienced Orange County property division lawyer by calling us at (714) 667-0045. The parking and confidential consultation are free.