Divorce in California: Who Gets the House, the Money and the Rest

0:00 She said it on a Sunday. Quietly. Over coffee that had gone cold. Twelve years ago, they promised each other everything. Now they have to divide it. The house they painted together. The business he started in the garage. Two retirement accounts. And Biscuit, who refused to pick a side.

0:19 He moved out in March. She stayed. So did the mortgage. Then, 3 months in, her lawyer found an account she had never seen. Sixty-two thousand dollars.

0:31 So who gets the house? Who gets the money? And what happens to the one who hid it?

0:36 Is your spouse's paycheck half yours? Does it matter who cheated? Who keeps the house?

0:42 How long does spousal support last? What if you never married at all? And what happens when someone hides money?

0:48 Divorce in California, from "I do" to the final judgment, in about 11 minutes, with the law behind every step.

0:56 This is the California Attorney Registry's plain-language guide. It's legal information, not legal advice.

1:06 First, the question nobody asks: are you actually married? In California it takes a license, a ceremony with an officiant, and, with a standard license, at least one witness. Your cousin counts. Even that cousin.

1:19 And if the officiant forgets to mail the license back? You're still married. A court said so in 2018.

1:26 Common-law marriage? California ended it in 1895. Living together for decades doesn't make you married here.

1:33 So unmarried partners don't share community property, no matter how long they've been together. They need an agreement, even an unwritten one, and they have to prove it. That's the Marvin rule.

1:44 Registered domestic partners are different. Under California law, they have the same rights and duties as spouses, and they end things the same way.

1:53 And then there's the putative spouse. In one real California case, a man kept two families for 24 years. Neither wife knew. When he died, the court split his estate between them.

2:05 The law protects a spouse who honestly believed the marriage was valid. The calendar management, it does not explain.

2:15 Claire and David never signed a prenup. Plenty of couples do. California's rules are strict: the agreement must be in writing, and the person signing gets at least 7 days with the final version first.

2:27 Nothing says romance like a 7-day review period.

2:31 A prenup can't reduce child support. And giving up spousal support only holds if you had your own lawyer, and the result isn't unconscionable.

2:40 Cheating penalties? A marriage contract that charged a spouse for an affair was struck down. No-fault means no fault, even in the fine print.

2:48 After the wedding, changing who owns something takes a document that clearly says so. In one case a large diamond given during the marriage stayed community property, because nothing was in writing. Small personal gifts are the exception.

3:05 In April, Claire filed. To divorce in California, one spouse must have lived in the state for 6 months, and in the county for three, before filing.

3:15 She didn't have to prove anything about David. California became the first no-fault state in 1970. Irreconcilable differences is enough, and evidence of who did what is generally kept out.

3:27 California stopped asking who cheated. The neighbors didn't.

3:31 David was served, and had 30 days to file a response.

3:35 And here's what most people miss. The summons carries automatic restraining orders, binding both spouses: no selling, hiding or borrowing against property, no changing insurance beneficiaries, and no taking the children out of state without consent.

3:50 So, no surprise sports car the week you're served.

3:53 And the clock: a divorce can't become final until 6 months after the other spouse is served or appears in the case. Most take longer.

4:01 One more date matters a lot: the date of separation. It's when one spouse says the marriage is over and acts like it. You can be separated under the same roof.

4:14 Within 60 days, each spouse serves a preliminary declaration of disclosure, under penalty of perjury: every asset, every debt, income and expenses, and 2 years of tax returns.

4:26 Which is a formal way of saying: don't forget the boat.

4:29 That's how Claire's lawyer found the account. David hadn't listed it. Spouses owe each other the duties of business partners: full disclosure, and no unfair advantage. Break that duty, and a court can award the other spouse half of the hidden asset. If it was fraud, oppression or malice, all of it.

4:48 In one real case, a wife won the lottery and never told her husband. The court gave him 100% of the winnings.

4:55 Even simply skipping disclosure costs money: the court has to order sanctions, unless there's a good reason not to.

5:05 Time for a quick game. Splitsville. True or false. Four questions. No lawyers were billed in the making of this quiz.

5:12 True or false? If your spouse cheated, you get more in the divorce.

5:17 False. California divides property equally, and cheating doesn't change that.

5:22 True or false? Live together for seven years, and you're common-law married.

5:27 False. Not since 1895.

5:30 True or false? Money you earn after you separate is still half your spouse's.

5:35 False. Earnings after the date of separation are your separate property.

5:40 True or false? Your spouse's Social Security gets split like a pension.

5:45 False. Federal law keeps Social Security out of the community estate.

5:50 Four for four? Somewhere, a family law judge just nodded. And if you're enjoying the video, gently tap that Like button. Also subscribe for additional amazing content like this.

6:04 California is a community property state. What either spouse earns or acquires during the marriage, while living here, belongs to both, equally. Yes, that includes his paycheck.

6:15 What you owned before the wedding is separate. So are gifts and inheritances you receive, and what they earn, and what you earn after separation.

6:24 But mix them, and they can blur. Put an inheritance in the joint account, spend from it for years, and if you can't trace it, the law presumes it's community.

6:33 And whose name is on it doesn't settle it. A life insurance policy bought with community money and put in one spouse's name was still community property.

6:42 At the end, the community estate, assets and debts, is divided equally, unless the spouses agree otherwise in writing or in court.

6:50 Fighting over the couch? Used furniture is usually valued at about garage-sale prices. Lawyers do not bill at garage-sale rates.

7:02 Now, the house. Claire put $80,000 of her own savings, from before the wedding, into the down payment. And they put both names on the deed. A home bought during the marriage in both names is presumed community property. But Claire can be repaid her $80,000 off the top, dollar for dollar.

7:20 Just the $80,000, though. No interest, and no share of the growth. Mortgage interest, taxes and upkeep don't count at all.

7:28 Here's a trap. Own a house before marriage, then add your spouse to the deed when you refinance, and from that day it can become community property.

7:36 And if community money paid down the mortgage on one spouse's separate house, the community earns a share of the growth. Lawyers call it Moore Marsden.

7:45 After David moved out, he kept paying the mortgage from his own paycheck. That can earn him a credit, called an Epstein credit.

7:52 Meanwhile, Claire lived in the house alone, so she may owe the community its fair rent. That's a Watts charge. Rent. For your own house.

8:00 Often the two cancel out. Either way, a judge can award the whole house to one spouse, as long as the other receives assets of equal value.

8:11 David started his business before the wedding. But he worked in it every day of the marriage, and it grew. Some of that growth can belong to the community. Courts split it two ways. If his work drove the growth, his separate share gets a fair return, and the rest is community. If the business grew on its own, the community gets a fair salary for his work, minus what he was paid.

8:34 Retirement is simpler. The part earned between the wedding and the separation is community, even if it hasn't vested. A plan like a 401(k) is divided by a court order with a name only a lawyer could love: a QDRO.

8:48 Debts follow the same calendar. Debts from before the marriage, or after separation, generally stay with the spouse who took them on. Student loans usually go with the degree.

9:01 Then, support. While the case is pending, a judge can order temporary support to keep things steady, and many courts use guideline software to set it.

9:10 Long-term support has no formula. The judge weighs factors like earning capacity, the standard of living, the length of the marriage, age and health, and the goal of becoming self-supporting.

9:22 For marriages under 10 years, the rule of thumb is support for half the length of the marriage. At 10 years or more, the marriage is presumed long, and the court can keep the door open indefinitely.

9:33 Claire and David made twelve.

9:35 Support ends if the supported spouse remarries. Moving in with a new partner can lower it. But if the paying spouse remarries, the new spouse's income doesn't count.

9:45 And a spouse convicted of domestic violence against the other, within 5 years before filing or while the case is pending, is presumed to get no support from the victim.

9:59 Most divorces end in an agreement, not a trial. Put it in writing, or state it on the record in court. A handshake deal about property won't hold.

10:08 One warning while the case is open: if a spouse dies before it's final, a house held in joint tenancy can pass to the survivor. Talk to your lawyer early about title and beneficiaries.

10:20 Then the judge signs the judgment, with the date you're both single again. And anything left out can still be divided later.

10:30 Ready to talk to someone? The California Attorney Registry lets you search every licensed attorney in California by city and practice area, including family law. Every record links to the State Bar, and contact details are free.

10:44 Or submit your case for review: seven questions, in your own words. Stick to the facts. Family law attorneys who handle cases like yours can send you a proposal, and you choose one, or none. It's free.

10:57 And the registry's free Legal Answers cover how property is divided, the divorce timeline, and child support, each tied to the law it comes from.

11:06 Family law attorneys: your profile is already on the roll. Claim it free, and review new matters in your practice area.

11:16 Claire and David settled in month eleven. She got her $80,000 back. He kept the business and paid her share of it. And the $62,000 he hadn't listed? Facing that 100% rule, he agreed it all went to her. Biscuit? Shared custody. He finally picked a side: whoever had the treats.

11:37 So: tell the truth on your disclosures. Don't move money once a case is filed. Keep the records that trace what's yours. And get every agreement in writing.

11:47 We're glad that you made it to the end, and please hit that Like button and Subscribe to the channel for more incredible videos! Visit CaliforniaAttorneyRegistry.com, for all of your legal needs.