What Happens to a Personal Injury Settlement in a CA Divorce?
Posted on Aug 11, 2020 8:00am PDT
If you have been injured by a negligent person, financial compensation
from a personal injury lawsuit can help you pay for medical expenses,
repair damaged property, and recover from injury. But what happens to
a personal injury settlement if the injured party is going through a
divorce?
According to California law, property and assets obtained during the course
of a marriage are considered community property and subject to an “equal”
division. When a personal injury lawsuit is filed or when an injured party
obtains a settlement is obtained during the marriage, the award is also
classified as community property.
However, personal injury damages are often awarded to the injured spouse.
Under California Family Code § 2603 regarding “community estate
personal injury damages,” all compensation obtained or to be recovered
as a result of a personal injury will be assigned to the injured party
unless the court determines the non-injured spouse has a right to some
of those damages.
The following are common examples of when the non-injured spouse can obtain
some of the injured spouse’s personal injury settlement:
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If marital funds or the non-injured spouse’s separate property were
used to pay past medical expenses and property damage.
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If the award or settlement has been commingled with other assets of the
community estate, unless such damages can be traced.
Under California Family Code § 781, personal injury damages are considered
an injured spouse’s separate property if the injury occurred before
the couple was married or after they are living separately. In addition,
the non-injured spouse cannot recover damages if he/she caused the injured
spouse’s losses.
If you are interested in filing for divorce in Fresno,
contact Arnold Law Group, APC today at (559) 900-1263 for a confidential consultation. Our firm has
more than three decades of experience helping thousands of satisfied clients.