In theory, the laws dictating how divorcing spouses classify and split assets are fairly straight-forward. Assets that were accumulated / money that was earned DURING the time of the marriage is considered “Community Property” and will be split equally between the spouses. Property that each spouse owned before the marriage is considered “Separate Property”; each spouse keeps their separate property. If everything that was being split was cash or some other liquid asset, simple math would dictate who receives what. However, assets and retirement account division in real life is much more complex. There are a number of situations where certain assets can be very difficult to value.
