When dividing community property in a divorce or legal separation, many people believe that the division only applies to property with a positive value and not a negative one. This is a misunderstanding. The California family courts must divide any credit card debt equally between both spouses, regardless of whose name is on the credit card.

How Is Community Property Divided In A Divorce?

Under California Family Code Section 2250, in a divorce or legal separation the court must divide the community estate of the parties equally. The community estate is made up of both spouses’ assets and debts that were acquired during the marriage. Therefore, the court can not only divide assets that were acquired during the marriage but also debts acquired during the marriage.

When dividing community debt, it does not matter whose name the debt is in. For example, if your spouse has a credit card in his or her name, and you have never charged anything to that specific card, under California law, the court must equally divide the amount owed to the creditor between you and your spouse.

However, it is important to note that the amount owed to a credit card company shall be determined as of the date you and your spouse separated. Further, there are exceptions to this general rule of division. For example, student loans, even though acquired during the marriage, may not necessarily be equally divided between two spouses.

Wallin & Klarich knows how difficult going through a divorce or legal separation can be on both spouses.Divorces and legal separations involve a lot of emotion and can become extremely complex when it comes to dividing the community estate. Calculating numbers and determining what each spouse should be awarded and responsible for should be handled by a skilled and reliable family law attorney. Our experienced family law attorneys can help you today.

We have been practicing family law for over 30 years and have a dependable legal team you can count on. We consider our clients like one of our own family members who deserve prompt and dependable legal representation. Call us at 1-888-749-7428. Wallin and Klarich has offices in San Diego, San Bernardino, Riverside, Los Angeles and Orange Counties and can help you now. We will be there when you call.