Division of Property
When spouses separate or divorce, their property needs to be divided unless it is completely separate and there is no community of property and no assets are jointly owned.
There are numerous challenges in connection with the division of property in the event of divorce or legal separation. The principal considerations are: Who will take what and at what price? Moreover, it is necessary to decide whether one spouse must be compensated for the other spouse's pension savings and by what amount.
The purpose of the division of property is to reach a decision on all the assets covered by the community of property, have them valued and find out which of the parties will take the individual assets, including businesses, property etc. This can be a very complicated affair, and usually it requires legal expert assistance.
We have extensive experience in handling division of property cases, and we work with the other spouse's lawyer to agree on valuations and the division of the community property.
If, for one reason or another, it is not possible to agree on the division of the community property, each of the parties may request the assistance of the probate court. In such cases, the probate court will appoint an administrator, i.e. a local lawyer who will be responsible for the division of the community property. This is more costly, but may be the only feasible way of proceeding.
