The Division of the Community Estate in California

In the California Family Code, Division 7, Part 4, deals with special rules for the division of the community estate. Section 2600 authorizes the court to divide the community estate as provided in this part.

Section 2601 states that, where economic circumstances warrant, the court may award an asset of the community estate to one party on such conditions as the court deems proper to effect a substantially equal division of the community estate.

Section 2602 allows the court to award from a party’s share, as an additional award or offset against existing property, the amount the court determines to have been deliberately misappropriated by the party to the exclusion of the interest of the other party in the community estate.

Section 2603 defines the term “community estate personal injury damages.” Community estate personal injury damages are to be assigned to the party who suffered the injuries unless the court, after taking into account the economic condition and needs of each party, the time that has elapsed since the recovery of the damages or the accrual of the cause of action, and all other facts of the case, determines that the interests of justice require another disposition.

Section 2603.5 authorizes the court to, if there is a judgment for civil damages for an act of domestic violence perpetrated by one spouse against the other spouse, enforce that judgment against the abusive spouse’s share of community property, if a proceeding for dissolution of marriage or legal separation of the parties is pending prior to the entry of final judgment.

Section 2604 provides that, if the net value of the community estate is less than $5,000 and one party cannot be located through the exercise of reasonable diligence, the court may award all the community estate to the other party on conditions the court deems proper in its judgment of dissolution of marriage or legal separation of the parties.

Section 2605 specifies that the court, at the request of a party to proceedings for dissolution of marriage or for legal separation of the parties, may enter an order, prior to the final determination of ownership of a pet animal, to require a party to care for the pet animal. The terms “care” and “pet animal” are defined.