Legal Question in Family Law in California

Any earnings acquired during the marriage are considered the joint property of the spouses under California community property law. The question that must be answered is what was the source of the money you reference as your own "personal savings". If these monies were earned before the marriage and were not commingled with other community accounts to the point you cannot identify the funds, then those funds are your separate property. If these monies were given to you as a gift during the marriage, then the monies are also considered your separate funds.

Both parties have a right to full disclosure of any and all assets and liabilities in order to properly identify community and separate property, therefore your wife's request for the banking information is appropriate.

I agree with everything Ms. Kock said, but write to add that not only do both parties have the right to full disclosure of anything and everything to do with assets and liabilities, regardless of whether you claim them as community, separate or quasi-community property, it actually goes further than a right. Each spouse has an absolute fiduciary duty, meaning a duty to put the other person's interests equal to and even ahead of your own, to make full and complete disclosure of any and all financial information. You can negotiate over your "personal savings," or you can let a court decide if they are community or separate property, but you cannot withhold ANY information about them. In fact the penalty for withholding information can include the court automatically awarding that asset to your spouse.

I agree with both Ms. Kock and Mr. McCormick.

BARRY BESSER

www.besserlaw.com