Orange County Real Estate

How to Choose the Best Orange County Divorce Lawyer

One of the most important parts of choosing a divorce lawyer in Orange County is making sure the lawyer you choose is completely familiar with the divorce laws in the State of California. Because of the community property laws, things are different regarding division of property and other assets. This can make things rather complicated for those who are not fully aware of the law and how it affects each case. This is one of the reasons it is absolutely essential to hire a divorce lawyer that has expertise and vast experience in the divorce laws in California.

In order to be successful when you choose an Orange County divorce lawyer it is essential to make sure you choose one with experience in divorce litigation in a community property state. While it can be tempting to use the services of a friend or relative in another state—or in another specialty—you are setting yourself up for failure by not choosing a divorce lawyer with expertise in community property divorces.

Failing to choose a divorce lawyer that is familiar with community property divorces in Orange County can lead to any number of the following scenarios:
You will lose ownership of property that is technically separate property.
You will receive less than your share of jointly held home business assets.
You may choose to sign a transmutation agreement that is not in your best interest.
You may not provide the information necessary for proper representation and asset valuation based on community property laws.

There are other factors that might also come into the picture unless you protect yourself by hiring a divorce lawyer that is familiar with the laws in California.

You do not want to make the mistake of thinking all divorce lawyers are familiar with the laws in all states because this is definitely not the case. They must pass the bar examination in the states where they plan to practice, so it is unnecessary for a lawyer that only plans to practice in Oregon, a non-community property state, to know divorce law in California.

The variation in laws in each state is one of the reasons you want to avoid hiring a friend or relative in order to save money during your divorce unless said person is licensed to practice in California and has enough expertise and experience to provide you with competent counsel. The money you are likely to lose by hiring someone at a lower fee will more than cover the costs of an experienced Orange County divorce lawyer.

Before you speak to a divorce lawyer make sure you have all your paperwork in order, especially anything that might serve as validation for separate property such as a will denoting inheritance or any kind of information that would show a piece of property was given to you as a gift for your benefit only. You will also need to show that you did not use any marital funds to increase the value of any investments you owned prior to your marriage. For instance, if you owned rental property prior to your marriage but used any “community” funds to increase the value of that property of maintain it, that property then becomes part of community property.