Is the date that my spouse and I “separate” important for the purpose of division of our assets in a divorce?

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If both spouses have jobs where they work for someone else then the date of separation is extremely important when a person files for a dissolution in California.

The reason the “date of separation” is so important is because all income earned by either spouse after the date of separation is considered the “separate property” of that spouse. In addition any pension contributions or contributions to a 401k are also considered the separate property of the spouse that earned these contributions.

If one spouse is working and the other spouse is not working then the spouse that is working gains a substantial financial benefit by having an “earlier date of separation”.

The importance of the date of separation does not have the same level of significance when a spouse owns their own business. This is because the value of the business is not determined at the date of separation but rather as of the date of final dissolution. In addition the value of any real property owned by the parties is determined at the time of trial.