In a California divorce proceeding, a court is tasked with the obligation of dividing all community property (assets and debts) equally between the husband and wife. Community property is defined as all property acquired by a married person during the marriage while domiciled in California. Separate property is generally defined as property acquired before marriage, after separation, of by gift, inheritance or bequest. Community and separate property may include:

• The family home
• Other real property
• Pension and other retirement plans
• Family owned businesses and closely held corporations
• Bank accounts
• Stock and bonds
• Professional practice interests, inventory, and investments
• Cars, boats and planes
• IRS tax debt
• Credit card debt

The preliminary steps in the process is the identification, characterization and valuation of all assets and debts. California law imposes upon married persons fiduciary duties towards each other which include the disclosure of all material facts and information regarding these assets and debts.

Certain reimbursements, credits and charges may also be ordered by the court.

Because the Law Offices of Randy W. Medina focuses exclusively on family law matters, we have extensive experience litigating divorce cases, drafting marital settlement agreements and handling divorce and property settlements. We have the competence you need to ensure that your marital estate is properly divided. We thoroughly and meticulously conduct the discovery necessary to obtain a comprehensive picture of the marital estate, ensuring proper classification of community and separate property. We work with professional appraisers, accountants, and other financial experts to ensure proper valuation of our the marital assets. We also work diligently with our clients to ensure that proposals for property division are fair and equitable.

The Law Offices of Randy W. Medina offers the greater Los Angeles area accomplished and dedicated legal representation to help you navigate property and pension distribution issues in anticipation of your family law trial and prepare a settlement agreement for your marital dissolution or legal separation proceeding.