Irvine Classification of Separate Property Lawyer

Protecting Your Financial Interests During Your Divorce

Serving Clients in Orange County - Riverside County - Los Angeles County

At the Law Offices of Melanie L. Oldham, in Irvine, we guide you through all aspects of the divorce process. When you choose Melanie Oldham to handle your divorce, she begins by identifying the major financial issues — like classification of community and separate property. We ask that you bring certain financial documents with you to our first meeting to begin to identify what financial issues will affect your case.

Melanie Oldham brings a unique perspective to her law practice because she was a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) before becoming a lawyer. This financial perspective helps guide clients through the proper classification of separate and community property with one goal in mind: protecting their interests.

California Community Property Law

California is a community property state. California law requires that community property be divided equally, unless there is a written agreement — like a pre-marital and post-marital agreements — that says otherwise. This equal division means that each spouse must walk away from the divorce with community property assets of the same value.

However, not all property is community property that must be divided in a divorce. Individuals are entitled to keep their own separate property. The law distinguishes between community property and separate property:

• Community property is generally all property acquired by either spouse during marriage while living in California. Each spouse has a 50% ownership interest in their community property.
• Separate property is generally all property you acquired before your marriage, or by gift or through inheritance during your marriage.

Ms. Oldham will make sure to properly value separate property interests as they relate to community property. The values may have increased over the years, and as such could significantly affect property division. IT may be a complex analysis, especially if the separate property interest includes highly appreciating assets like real estate or investments.

Contact the Law Offices of Melanie L. Oldham

Contact us by calling 949-622-5522 for a consultation with an attorney on classification of separate property. Off-site, evening and weekend appointments are available for our clients' convenience. We accept all major credit cards.