Even when a marriage has, for all intents and purposes, ended in the sense that the married couple is no longer living together, finances are kept separate, and new significant others are in the picture, there are some people who do not wish to move forward with the process of obtaining a divorce in California. There may be a number of reasons for this: a general aversion to dealing with paperwork, the courts, and attorneys; a stigma against getting a divorce; or just a simple avoidance of what can seem like a time-consuming, unpleasant process.
Most people understand that, by not obtaining a divorce, they cannot remarry legally. But, for some, the thought of getting remarried can feel like the last thing they would ever want to do. So, if that’s not an issue, does that mean there is no point in getting a divorce?
Quite the contrary, as there are a number of issues that will affect you in California if you continue to be legally married.
Your Ownership of Property May Be Unclear
One of the most important implications of marriage in California is that property earned or acquired with funds earned during the time of marriage is considered community property, unless there is a prenuptial or postnuptial agreement saying otherwise. This is true regardless of which spouse earned the property, and even if only one spouse worked. Community property is considered to be jointly owned by the spouses and is split 50/50 in a divorce.
What this means is that, without a divorce order, it may not be clear who owns the property in the possession of either spouse, and, furthermore, that your spouse could have the ability to use and dispose of property that you thought was yours alone.
Your Taxes Could Be Affected
You have three options for filing your personal income taxes, which are married filing jointly, married filing separately, and single. Unless you are in a position to continue working with your spouse to file taxes together, you will be required to use the married filing separately option, which, in most cases, means a higher tax rate than filing as a single taxpayer (which you cannot do if you are still married).
Your Estate Planning Could Be Affected
Connected with the property ownership issue above, California’s community property laws can supersede whatever estate planning decisions you made in a will or elsewhere regarding who should get your property. If you are still married at the time of death, your spouse will be entitled to at least 50% of the community property, regardless of what your will says, and all of your community property (in addition to other property) if there is no will.
You May Have Liability for Your Spouse’s Debts
California state law looks at a married couple as a joint financial entity for many purposes, and, in the same way a business partner in a partnership could be liable for another partner’s debts and liabilities (such as in a personal injury lawsuit), you could be liable to pay some of your partner’s debts and liabilities, even if you took no action to incur those debts and liabilities.
For any questions on family law in California, contact the Law Office of Kelley C. Finan today to schedule a consultation to discuss your circumstances.