Pension Rights After Divorce in California

What You Need to Know About Your Pension Rights After Divorce

Under California law, the courts have the discretion to divide community property pension benefits in any equitable manner. This means an ex-spouse may claim a former spouse’s pension after divorce. Here’s what you need to know about pension rights after divorce in California.

Pension rights after divorce vary by circumstance. Any money paid into one’s pension during the marriage is considered community property. On the other hand, any money put into one’s pension before the date of marriage and/or after the date of divorce is considered separate property. The difference between these two types of property determines pension rights after divorce.

What is Community Property?

All property acquired by the couple during marriage is considered community property. Community property is essentially everything that spouses own together. It includes all property a couple bought or got while married—including debt—that is not a gift or inheritance.

In California, each spouse owns one-half of the community property. In terms of pensions, any money paid into the pension plan during the marriage is community property. Therefore – unless the couple agrees to divide assets in another manner – the community property of the pension will be divided equally between both spouses.

What is Separate Property?

Separate property consists of any assets or debts obtained prior to the date of marriage or after the date of separation. This includes gifts and/or inheritances received by each spouse at any time. Any money paid into the pension before the date of marriage and/or after the date of separation is considered separate property.

Mixed Community and Separate Property

Sometimes property is considered to be part separate property and part community property. This is called commingling. Commingling occurs when one spouse’s separate property is mixed with the other spouse’s community property. For example, when either spouse has a pension benefit from a job held prior to marriage. If there are financial contributions to the pension after the couple is married, then it will be community property. Once the couple chooses to end their marriage, contributions will revert to being considered as separate property.

How the pension is divided varies: if each spouse has a pension, they may be able to keep their own pension. This all depends on the value of each pension.

How Pensions are Divided Following Divorce

How pensions are divided vary in different situations. The court has the discretion to decide how property is divided in divorce proceedings, but they typically divide it in three different ways.

The court will grant the entire pension benefit to one spouse and give the other spouse property of equal value.
The court will split the pension benefits equally among the spouses.
The court will determine how the pension benefits will be divided–or, rather, how the entire community property will be divided – at a later time, by invoking Reservation of Jurisdiction.

Contact Us

If you or a loved one have any more questions about pension rights after divorce, contact us. Get your free consultation with one of our Property Division Attorneys in California today!