Legal Question in Family Law in California

I�ve been married for 9years 3months and we have one minor child. I live in a community property state CA but we married and lived in a state with equitable distribution . He's been acting strange and hiding paperwork since he found out this year that he was left inheritance money. The probate process has come to its final stages and he recently moved out. Now he wants a divorce. He wants to file a divorce in CA which is a community property state. We got married and lived over six months in an equitable distribution state. What can I do to get the court to recognize the equitable distribution law from our married state? Do courts tend to not recognize the marriage laws where the person married?


Asked on 10/11/12, 11:45 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Anthony Roach Law Office of Anthony A. Roach

First of all, his inheritance would be his separate property, in this state. I'm not an expert on the matter, but my understanding from speaking with attorneys in other states is that inheritances are treated as non-marital property in state's that use equitable distribution. So I'm not sure what you hope to accomplish. If it's his inheritance, it is his inheritance.

If you want to get divorced in an equitable distribution state, you should speak to an attorney in that state, to determine whether that state would have jurisdiction. If you get divorced in California, the court is going to apply California law.

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Answered on 10/12/12, 7:51 am


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