Can my spouse sell our community property before the divorce?

An ATRO will prevent either party from selling or taking community property without the court’s or other party’s consent.

When a complaint for divorce is filed in California, automatic temporary restraining orders (ATROs) come into play. As soon as the other spouse is served, then the ATRO applies to both parties.

The ATROs maintain the existing state of the marriage so that there is no attempt to hide or encumber assets and property. They prevent either party from removing children out of state without consent, prevent changes in insurance policies, and property titles and changes in any community property assets. A violation of these terms is a serious matter in the eyes of the court.

What Does an Automatic Temporary Restraining Order (ATRO) Do?

An automatic temporary restraining order will prevent either party involved in the separation or divorce from taking any of the following actions:

1. Removing the minor child or children of the parties, if any, from the state without the prior written consent of the other party or an order of the court;

2.Cashing, borrowing against, canceling, transferring, disposing of, or changing the beneficiaries of any insurance or other coverage including life, health, automobile, and disability held for the benefit of the parties and their minor child or children;

3. Transferring, encumbering, hypothecating, concealing, or in any way disposing of any property, real or personal, whether community, quasi-community, or separate, without the written consent of the other party or an order of the court, except in the usual course of business or for the necessities of life.

4. Creating a non-probate transfer or modifying a non-probate transfer in a manner that affects the disposition of property subject to the transfer, without the written consent of the other party or an order of the court. Before revocation of a non-probate transfer can take effect or a right of survivorship to property can be eliminated, notice of the change must be filed and served to the other party.

You must notify each other of any proposed extraordinary expenditures at least five business days prior to incurring these extraordinary expenditures and account to the court for all extraordinary expenditures made after these restraining orders are effective. However, nothing in the restraining orders shall preclude you from using community property to pay reasonable attorney fees in order to retain legal counsel in the action.

Call Wallin & Klarich If You Are Seeking to File for Divorce in California

It is important to contact an experienced family law attorney to represent your interests and your rights in a marital dissolution or issues involving community property and debts, especially when it comes to numerous community property acquisitions. Contact us as soon as possible via phone at 888-749-7428 or fill out our contact form and one of our experienced attorneys will call or email you. Call us today, we will get through this together.