Divorce Newsletters

Attorney Fee Awards in Community Property States

In an action for divorce under the common law, the power to grant a party attorney's fees and expenses is within the discretion of the court. Some courts exercise such power as a part of general equity and when warranted by the parties' relative ability to pay counsel fees. Numerous factors are considered by the court in awarding such fees, the most significant of which being the time spent and the services rendered by an attorney in representing a party in the divorce.

Community Property in Divorce

In a pure community property system, property acquired during marriage other than by gift or inheritance from a third party is presumed to be community property and will be divided equally between the parties in divorce. Property that a spouse brings into the marriage or acquires during marriage by gift or inheritance from a third party is presumed to be separate property. Community property states generally consider a gift from one spouse to the other to be the recipient's separate property.

Fault-based Divorce: Abandonment

Abandonment, also known as "desertion," is a ground for fault-based divorce in a majority of states. Abandonment is defined as one spouse's leaving the marital home without the other spouse's consent and without any justifiable reason. Some courts have drawn a slight distinction between abandonment and desertion by stating that desertion involves an intention to sever the relationship, but abandonment does not have that requirement. Some state statutes require that there must be a continuous abandonment for a certain period of time before the filing of a divorce petition.

Property Division in Divorce: Equitable Distribution

As the name implies, "equitable distribution" seeks to give the divorce court some discretion to distribute property equitably in divorce. Many common-law states and some community property states use equitable distribution for dividing marital assets and debts between divorcing spouses. Many equitable distribution states also apply the scheme to divisible property, and some so-called "all property" states may apply it to all of the spouses' property.

Property Division in Divorce: Inheritance

Generally, the concepts of equitable distribution and community property distribution in divorce cases do not apply to property that a spouse inherits from a third party during marriage. Ordinarily, property that a spouse inherits from a third party during marriage is considered that spouse's separate property. Inheritance includes acquisition through wills, trusts, probate, or intestacy.