Orange County California Divorce

Divorce is a highly emotional time for anyone.  It is also a very confusing time, because you just don’t know your legal rights.  It is a scary time to know that your whole life will change in every aspect when contemplating divorce.  There are so many issues to deal with all at one time such as, custody issues, financial issues, marital property.  It seems that especially in Orange County California divorce cases, property and support issues are often complex.  The biggest asset a couple usually owns in a marriage is real estate.  Most often, the house that you and your spouse own is community property which needs to be divided when a couple is divorcing.  In an Orange County California divorce proceeding, the big property “fight” is usually who gets the house.  Of course, in any county and state property division is an issue, but for some reason, since the values of real estate in Orange County California skyrocketed in recent years, in an Orange County California divorce, property division seems to have become the forefront issue in a divorce proceeding.

The most often asked questions are:  Does it matter if you move out of the house before a divorce is finalized? The answer is usually, no.  Who pays for the mortgage during a divorce?  The quick answer is that both parties are responsible for the mortgage payments, especially if both parties are on the title of a home and both parties are on the mortgage.  However, how the mortgage payment on a house is made could get very complex.  That is why it is important that you hire an attorney when dealing with an Orange County California divorce.  Does it matter that there are children in the marriage as to who gets to stay in the house?  In order to keep a stable environment for the child or children of a marriage, some attorney’s advise that the child or children stay in the home and the primary caretaker of the children stay with them.  Some couples believe that he or she should both stay in the home and try to get along during a divorce proceeding for the sake of their child or children.  Some do not think that it is in the best interest of the children to try to live together because it causes too much stress and uncertainty.  However, no matter who stays in the residence during a divorce, the courts in Orange County will have to divide the equity in the home in a fair manner.  Either the home will have to be sold and the profits divided equally, or one party will have to “buy out” the other party.  Currently, it seems to be an issue in an Orange County California divorce as to how to “divide” the home when the values of homes have declined so significantly that no equity exists to divide among the parties.  Will the current state of real estate values effect an Orange County California divorce?  Some attorneys think that the inflated real estate market has affected the divorce rate.  Since a divorce cannot be finalized by the Courts unless all the community property issues have been dealt with and settled, it has forced some couples to rethink getting a divorce at this financially hard time.

If you are looking for an attorney to help you with your divorce, please fill out the form or call the number above.  We would be happy to help you through this hard time.