My spouse earned all the income during our marriage while I stayed home. Do I get half of everything in a California divorce?

Under California community property law, yes — generally. Wages earned by either spouse during the marriage are community property belonging equally to both spouses, regardless of who actually earned them. The homemaking contributions of a non-working spouse are recognized as having equal value to the earning spouse's income. So the marital home purchased with those earnings, the retirement accounts funded during the marriage, the savings accounts — all community property, split 50/50. Assets you owned before the marriage, or received as gifts or inheritance during the marriage, are separate property and remain yours. The critical question at divorce is often the character of specific assets — which is community and which is separate — and that's where much of the expense and litigation in California divorce arises.

How long does a California divorce actually take, and what is the six-month rule?

Family Code § 2339 imposes a mandatory six-month waiting period from the date your spouse is served with divorce papers before the divorce can be finalized. This is a hard floor — no agreement, no judge's order, and no amount of money speeds it up below six months. An uncontested divorce with a marital settlement agreement can be finalized shortly after the six-month mark. A contested divorce that requires litigation over property, support, or custody can take 1–3 years or more, depending on the complexity of assets and the level of dispute. Orange County and San Diego courts tend to move faster than Los Angeles County, where family court backlogs are longer.

What is 'quasi-community property' and does it apply to property I acquired in another state?

Quasi-community property is a California-specific doctrine that applies when you move to California and later divorce here. Under Family Code § 125, property acquired while living in another state is treated as community property at California divorce if it would have been community property had you been living in California when you acquired it. For example, if you earned a salary and bought a house while living in New York (an equitable distribution state) and then moved to California and later divorced here, that New York-earned income and that house may be treated as community property in the California divorce. This surprises many couples who assume their pre-California assets are governed solely by the laws of the state where they acquired them.

My spouse is hiding assets before our California divorce. What can I do?

Both spouses in a California divorce owe each other a fiduciary duty of disclosure under Family Code § 721. Each party must complete a Schedule of Assets and Debts (FL-142) and an Income and Expense Declaration (FL-150) — these are mandatory disclosures. If your spouse is hiding assets, the formal discovery process in divorce litigation can uncover them: subpoenas to financial institutions, depositions, interrogatories, and requests for document production. A forensic accountant is often retained in cases with complex finances, business ownership, or suspected concealment. If your spouse is found to have deliberately concealed community assets, the court can impose sanctions including awarding you a greater share of the concealed asset — sometimes the entire value — and attorney fees.

What factors determine how much spousal support I will pay or receive in California?

Long-term spousal support in California is not calculated by formula — Family Code § 4320 lists over a dozen factors judges weigh, including: the length of the marriage; each party's earning capacity, taking into account the job market and time out of the workforce; the marital standard of living; each party's age and health; whether the supported spouse contributed to the earning spouse's career or education; tax consequences; and domestic violence history. As a rough guide, courts in longer marriages often set support duration at roughly half the marriage length for marriages under 10 years. For marriages over 10 years, courts retain jurisdiction indefinitely, which doesn't mean permanent support but does mean the court can modify or terminate it as circumstances change. Temporary support during the divorce is calculated by the DissoMaster formula and is more mechanical.

Family Law & Divorce in California (2026)

California Family Law — Key Facts

Property division: community property — generally equal 50/50 split
Divorce grounds: no-fault only — irreconcilable differences (Fam. Code § 2310)
Minimum time to finalize: 6 months from date of service (Fam. Code § 2339)
Domestic partnership: registered partners have essentially the same rights as spouses

California is one of nine community property states — a fundamental distinction that determines how marital assets and debts are divided at divorce. Combined with mandatory no-fault grounds, a domestic partnership system nearly equivalent to marriage, and one of the most sophisticated family court systems in the country, California family law has a distinctive character that doesn't translate directly from other states.

Community Property: What It Means and What It Doesn't

Community property is the default rule in California: assets and debts acquired by either spouse during the marriage belong equally to both spouses, regardless of who earned the money, whose name is on the account, or who made the purchasing decision. At divorce, community property is divided 50/50. This applies to wages earned during the marriage, retirement contributions made during the marriage, and real property purchased with marital funds — even if only one spouse's name is on the deed.

What is not community property is "separate property" — assets owned before the marriage, or received during the marriage by gift or inheritance. Separate property remains the acquiring spouse's property at divorce. The complication is that separate property can lose its character through "transmutation" (converting it to community property by agreement) or through "commingling" (mixing it with community assets). Tracing the separate property character of an account that received deposits from both separate and community funds is one of the most contested and expensive issues in California divorce.

Quasi-Community Property: The California-Specific Rule for Out-of-State Assets

California's quasi-community property doctrine addresses a situation that arises frequently in a mobile workforce. If you acquired property while living in another state that would have been community property had you been living in California at the time — income earned, property purchased — that property is treated as community property at divorce if you are domiciled in California when the divorce is filed. A couple who spent 10 years in Texas (a community property state) then 5 years in New York (an equitable distribution state), then divorces in California, will find their New York-acquired assets treated as community property under California's quasi-community property doctrine.

No-Fault Divorce: What This Actually Means

California was the first state in the country to adopt pure no-fault divorce, in 1969. Under Family Code § 2310, the only grounds for dissolution are irreconcilable differences that have led to the irremediable breakdown of the marriage, or incurable insanity. "Irreconcilable differences" requires no proof and no agreement from the other spouse — one party's statement that the marriage has broken down is sufficient. Marital fault — adultery, abandonment, cruelty — is irrelevant to the divorce itself.

However, fault is not completely irrelevant to all financial issues. A spouse who wastes or dissipates community assets — gambling away marital funds, making large gifts to a romantic partner, hiding assets — may be ordered to reimburse the community. This is called a "breach of fiduciary duty" claim under Family Code § 721.

Spousal Support in California

California courts award spousal support (alimony) based on the factors listed in Family Code § 4320, including the length of the marriage, each party's earning capacity, the marital standard of living, each spouse's age and health, and contributions to the other spouse's career or education. For marriages under 10 years, support is often ordered for roughly half the marriage length. For marriages over 10 years, California courts retain jurisdiction over support indefinitely — though this doesn't mean support is necessarily permanent, only that the court can revisit it.

California family courts use "DissoMaster" software to calculate temporary spousal support during the divorce proceeding. Long-term support is determined at trial or by agreement, and judges have substantial discretion.

Child Custody and Support

California custody law begins with the principle that frequent and continuing contact with both parents serves children's best interests (Fam. Code § 3020). Courts distinguish legal custody (decision-making authority over health, education, and welfare) from physical custody (where the child lives). Joint legal custody is the most common arrangement. Physical custody arrangements range from equal time-sharing to primary residence with one parent and scheduled visits with the other.

Child support in California is calculated by formula under Family Code § 4055 — the statewide "guideline" formula that accounts for each parent's net income, the percentage of time each parent has physical custody, and certain deductions. The formula output is presumptively correct; departing from it requires finding a specific statutory reason.

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California Family Law & Divorce Guide: custody friction, parenting schedule, and where the first pressure builds