Consultations are confidential and are conducted by the attorney who would handle the matter.
Borna Houman Law represents spouses in high-asset Beverly Hills divorces from an office at 2530 Wilshire Blvd in Santa Monica. Beverly Hills dissolutions are filed in the Los Angeles Superior Court, generally in the Central District at the Stanley Mosk Courthouse, with some Westside addresses assigned to the Santa Monica Courthouse and Valley matters to Van Nuys. The firm is rated 5.0 across 60 client reviews and is led by Borna Houman, California Bar No. 352339.
Key takeaway: In a Beverly Hills divorce the fight is almost never about whether property is divided equally. It is about which dollars are community and which are separate, what a business or an equity position is actually worth, and whether both spouses have disclosed everything. A spouse who conceals an asset can lose 100 percent of it under Family Code section 1101.
Call (888) 42-BORNA for a confidential consultation. Borna Houman Law, 2530 Wilshire Blvd, Santa Monica, CA 90403.
A Beverly Hills divorce is different because the estate is usually illiquid, concentrated, and hard to value: a closely held business, a partnership interest, a real property portfolio, restricted stock, carried interest, trust distributions, or art. Equal division of a number nobody has established yet is not a settlement, it is a deferred dispute.
The second difference is exposure. Filings in a California dissolution are public records. For a client with a public profile, a board seat, investors, or a business that depends on discretion, the filing strategy and the choice of forum matter as much as the substantive positions.
Matters we handle for Beverly Hills clients:
Automatic temporary restraining orders take effect on the petitioner at filing and on the respondent at service, and they bar both spouses from transferring, encumbering, concealing, or disposing of any property, real or personal, community or separate, without written consent or a court order. They also bar changing beneficiaries on insurance and retirement accounts and removing a child from the state.
Ordinary living expenses and the reasonable costs of the litigation are excepted, but the exception is narrow and the burden of explaining a transfer falls on the spouse who made it. Moving money after service is the single most common way a manageable Beverly Hills case turns into a fraud case. Call (888) 42-BORNA before a transaction, not after.
California requires both spouses to serve a preliminary declaration of disclosure identifying every asset, debt, and income source, and a final declaration before judgment unless waived in writing, under Family Code sections 2104 to 2107. Spouses owe each other the highest good faith and fair dealing under Family Code section 721 and section 1100.
The penalty is what makes disclosure real. Under Family Code section 1101, a court may award the aggrieved spouse 50 percent of an undisclosed asset, and where the breach amounts to fraud, oppression, or malice, the court may award 100 percent of that asset. Judgments have been set aside years later on a disclosure failure, which is why we treat the schedule of assets and debts as a litigation document rather than a form.
| Disclosure obligation | Authority | Consequence of getting it wrong |
|---|---|---|
| Preliminary declaration of disclosure | Fam. Code 2104 | Judgment vulnerable to being set aside |
| Final declaration of disclosure | Fam. Code 2105 | Cannot enter judgment without it or a written waiver |
| Continuing duty to update | Fam. Code 2100(c) | Later-acquired assets remain disclosable |
| Fiduciary duty between spouses | Fam. Code 721, 1100 | Breach of fiduciary duty claim |
| Concealment of a community asset | Fam. Code 1101(g), (h) | 50 percent, or 100 percent where fraud is shown |
| Litigation conduct that frustrates settlement | Fam. Code 271 | Fee sanctions payable to the other spouse |
Consultations are confidential and are conducted by the attorney who would handle your matter. Call (888) 42-BORNA.
A business owned before marriage remains separate property, but the growth in its value during the marriage may be partly community, and California uses two competing approaches to apportion it. Pereira allocates a fair rate of return to the separate capital and treats the remainder as community, and is used where the growth came mainly from the owner spouse's personal effort. Van Camp values the owner's community labor at a reasonable salary, subtracts what the community already consumed, and treats the rest as separate.
Which approach the court chooses often moves more money than every other issue in the case combined. Our detailed guides on business valuation in a California divorce and Pereira versus Van Camp apportionment walk through the mechanics, and closely held business divorce covers buy-out structures and goodwill.
Stock options and restricted stock units granted during the marriage but vesting after separation are apportioned by a time rule, and California uses two of them. The Hug formula applies where the grant was made to attract or reward past service, and the Nelson formula applies where the grant was made to secure future service, with the fraction running from grant date or hire date to the date of separation over the period to vesting.
Getting the grant documents is the whole job, and we request them at the outset rather than at trial. Call (888) 42-BORNA to review your grant notices. A plan that recites its purpose, a grant notice with the vesting schedule, and the employment offer letter are what decide which formula applies. See our guide to stock options and RSUs in a California divorce, and call (888) 42-BORNA if your compensation includes equity.
Temporary spousal support in Los Angeles County is set from a guideline calculation, but long-term support is decided by weighing the statutory factors in Family Code section 4320, including the marital standard of living, each spouse's earning capacity, the supported spouse's contribution to the other's career, and the balance of hardships. Guideline software does not decide permanent support.
Where a marriage lasted ten years or more from marriage to separation, Family Code section 4336 means the court retains jurisdiction over spousal support indefinitely unless both parties agree otherwise in writing. For variable income, an Ostler-Smith order sets a base figure plus a percentage of earnings above the base, which handles bonus and carried-interest years without a new motion each time.
Two structures are worth considering early: a lump-sum support buyout, which ends modification risk, and a negotiated step-down. Our guide to spousal support modification explains what later changes the number.
Forensic accounting is the answer to concealment, and California gives it teeth. A forensic accountant reconstructs the marital estate from tax returns, bank and brokerage records, business books, loan applications, and lifestyle analysis, and the gap between reported income and observed spending is usually where the case is won.
Cryptocurrency, offshore accounts, and transfers to family members are the three patterns we see most often on high-asset Westside files. Our guides to hidden assets and forensic accounting, cryptocurrency division, separate property tracing, and breach of fiduciary duty between spouses set out how each is proven.
California family law filings are public records, but three tools narrow the exposure. The parties can stipulate to a privately compensated temporary judge or a referee, which moves the proceedings off the public calendar. Financial exhibits can be exchanged under a protective order or lodged conditionally under seal. And a collaborative process under Family Code section 2013 keeps the negotiation itself out of the file entirely.
Privacy has a cost and a tradeoff, and we price both before recommending one. Call (888) 42-BORNA to discuss which route fits your situation. See our guides to collaborative divorce for high-net-worth couples and bifurcation of marital status, which lets the marriage end while the financial issues continue.
The date of separation closes the community. Under Family Code section 70, it is the date of a complete and final break in the marital relationship, proved by one spouse expressing the intent to end the marriage and by conduct consistent with that intent. Earnings and acquisitions after that date are separate property.
In a Beverly Hills estate a few months can be worth a great deal. A bonus paid in March, a fund distribution in April, or an option tranche vesting in June sits on one side of the line or the other depending on a date that is frequently disputed. Courts look at when the parties stopped sharing finances, when one moved out, what was said to friends and advisors, and what the tax filings show.
Because the date is a factual question, the evidence has to be gathered before positions harden. Our guide to the date of separation in a California divorce sets out what the court actually weighs. If a large payment is due in the next quarter, call (888) 42-BORNA before anything is filed.
Retirement earned during the marriage is community property, and dividing a qualified plan takes a separate court order. A qualified domestic relations order directs the plan administrator to pay a share to the non-employee spouse, and it has to be drafted to the plan's own requirements, joined to the case, and approved before it does anything.
Survivor benefit elections are the trap. A decree that divides a pension but is silent on the survivor annuity can leave a former spouse with nothing if the participant dies first. Our guide to QDRO drafting in California covers 401(k) plans, pensions, CalPERS and CalSTRS, military retirement, and IRAs. Call (888) 42-BORNA to review the plan documents before you sign a judgment.
We represent clients throughout Beverly Hills and the surrounding Westside, including the Flats, Trousdale Estates, Beverly Hills Post Office, Holmby Hills, Bel Air, Beverlywood, Century City, Westwood, Brentwood, Pacific Palisades, Santa Monica, and Malibu. Matters are heard in the Los Angeles Superior Court, generally at the Stanley Mosk Courthouse or the Santa Monica Courthouse depending on the district assignment.
| Issue | Governing authority | Where it is decided |
|---|---|---|
| Community property division | Fam. Code 760, 2550 | Trial or written agreement |
| Separate property reimbursement | Fam. Code 2640 | Tracing evidence |
| Business apportionment | Pereira, Van Camp | Valuation expert testimony |
| Equity compensation | Hug, Nelson | Plan and grant documents |
| Post-separation credits and charges | Epstein, Watts | Accounting at trial |
| Long-term spousal support | Fam. Code 4320, 4336 | Statutory factor findings |
| Custody and relocation | Fam. Code 3011, LaMusga | Family Court Services and the bench |
California divorce counsel bills hourly against a retainer, and the total is driven by how much of the estate is contested rather than by the size of the estate. A matter with a business valuation, a forensic accountant, and contested custody routinely reaches six figures in fees. Complete early disclosure and a stipulated private judge are the two levers that reduce it most.
A California marriage cannot be terminated earlier than six months and one day after the respondent is served or appears. A high-asset Los Angeles County matter with a business, equity compensation, or a custody dispute commonly takes 12 to 24 months, and longer where assets have to be traced.
Under Family Code section 1615, a California premarital agreement is unenforceable against a party who did not have at least seven calendar days between first receiving the agreement and signing it, who was not represented by independent counsel and did not waive that in a separate writing, or who did not receive a fair and reasonable disclosure of the other party's property and obligations.
A beneficial interest in a trust created by someone else is generally separate property, but distributions, appreciation attributable to community effort, and commingled funds can change the analysis. The trust instrument, the distribution history, and where the money went after it arrived are what decide it.
Yes. California allows parties to stipulate to a privately compensated temporary judge or a referee, which gives a Beverly Hills matter calendar certainty and removes the hearings from the public docket. The parties pay for the judge, which is usually worth it where delay is the expensive part.
Yes. The firm represents either spouse in a high-asset matter and takes a gender-neutral view of every issue, as California law requires. What we do not do is take a case where a conflict exists with an existing client.
Borna Houman is the founding attorney of Borna Houman Law, admitted to the California Bar under number 352339, practicing from 2530 Wilshire Blvd in Santa Monica and appearing in the family law departments of the Los Angeles Superior Court. The firm is rated 5.0 across 60 client reviews. Call (888) 42-BORNA for a confidential consultation.
Related pages: High Net Worth Divorce Attorney Los Angeles, Santa Monica Divorce Attorney, Prenuptial Agreement Attorney, Child Custody Attorney, and Practice Areas.
Further reading: the California Courts guide to divorce, the Los Angeles Superior Court family law division, and the State Bar of California. To reach the firm, call (888) 42-BORNA.
This page is general information about California family law and is not legal advice. Reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. Every matter turns on its own facts and no outcome is ever guaranteed. Borna Houman Law, 2530 Wilshire Blvd, Santa Monica, CA 90403. (888) 42-BORNA.
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