California Property Division Lawyers

Di Maria & Cone

Helping Clients Survive—and Giving Them Tools to Thrive

Representing Your Best Interests in Property Division
If you are facing the daunting task of asset division in a divorce, contact a California lawyer at the law firm of Di Maria & Cone in Palo Alto, California, regarding property division. We are a husband-and-wife team of California divorce attorneys with the experience, knowledge, and skill to make sure our clients best interests are represented when it comes to determining property value, tracing assets, and appropriately characterizing and dividing property in divorce settlements.

Under California law, the court is required to divide the parties’ community property equally between them and award each party his or her separate property. The process of determining what property is community and what is separate is called “characterization” of the property.

Generally, all property acquired by a married person during the marriage is treated as community property, regardless of which spouse’s earnings paid for it. Each spouse may also have separate property, which consists of all property owned by the spouse before marriage, all property acquired by the spouse during marriage by gift or inheritance, and income from separate property.

It often happens that community and separate property are mixed together, in which case characterization can become complex. For example:

• the parties purchase a house in their joint names. The downpayment is from the separate property of one spouse, but they make mortgage payments from their joint earnings
• an employee is granted stock options by an employer that vest over time but, before the vesting period expires, the employee either gets married or becomes separated
• a person started a small business before marriage and continued to work in the business after marriage

In these cases, the court must determine each party's respective separate and community interest in the property.

Using our detailed knowledge and understanding of property law, we can analyze the character of property and determine the best approach to establishing a favorable characterization of the property in settlement negotiations and in court. Where necessary, we will also arrange for an appraisal of property or other evaluation of assets’ market value. We will also work with you to determine a division of the property in your best interests.

We are experienced with the types of property law issues that arise in the Silicon Valley area, including those concerning stock options and employment benefits, intellectual property, and contributions of both community and separate property to acquire a home or investment property. Each case is prepared thoughtfully and thoroughly to ensure we have all the information to prepare for settlement negotiations. If your case cannot be resolved through negotiation, we are ready to aggressively advocate in your behalf in court.

We also represent clients with other family law matters relating to child custody and visitation, child support and spousal support, and domestic violence.

Our goal at Di Maria & Cone is to form a strong relationship with each client. In the casual, comfortable atmosphere of our office, we will sit down with you to fully understand your concerns and offer sound legal advice. We will keep you informed and return phone calls as soon as possible.

Contact a California property division lawyerat Di Maria & Cone Palo Alto, California  for a free initial phone consultation. We accept Visa and MasterCard.

The Palo Alto, California, family law lawyers of Di Maria & Cone represent clients throughout the state, primarily in the San Francisco Peninsula and South Bay Area communities such as Atherton, Cupertino, Los Altos, Menlo Park, Mountain View, Palo Alto, Redwood City, San Jose, Sunnyvale, and Woodside.

Santa Clara County • San Mateo County

Di Maria & Cone

425 Sherman Avenue, Suite 320
Palo Alto, CA 94306

Phone: (650) 321-4460
Fax: (650) 321-0632
E-mail