Marital abandonment, also called desertion, describes situations where a spouse leaves the marriage, including the marital responsibilities, and severs all ties. However, the other party’s absence makes some parts of the divorce proceedings more challenging. Unlike most divorces, where two people negotiate their divorce agreement, you’re left on the hook.
We recommend seeking professional divorce advice from a family law specialist before proceeding with a divorce after marital abandonment. You’ll want to make sure you think of every angle ahead of time to ensure your final divorce is just that – final.
Definition Of Marital Abandonment (Desertion)
In a culture where more than half of married couples eventually divorce, we often hear people using phrases like, “When my husband left…” or “my wife left me…” However, a person moving out and then working through separation and divorce is not the same as marriage abandonment.
Marriage abandonment means:
- One spouse moves out without any intention of saving or working on the marriage
- They do not continue paying shared bills, nor do they honor any of the other marital/financial obligations or agreements
- They have left and remained out of contact for at least 12 months and have no intention of returning
Different Types Of Marriage Abandonment
There are different types of marriage desertion:
Criminal marriage abandonment
Abandonment can be considered criminal, especially if the spouse left behind has medical issues or relies on the abandoning spouse for financial or caregiving support. This doesn’t mean you cannot pursue a divorce if an ill spouse depends on them for money, insurance, or physical care – but abandoning that spouse is considered a crime. You must go through the proper legal divorce channels. It is also considered a crime to leave children behind without honoring child support obligations (regardless of whether you want custody/visitation or not).
Constructive marriage abandonment
These terms mean less in California than in other states since we are a no-fault divorce state (see below). However, some spouses claim they “had” to leave the marriage because they were forced out – via a spouse making their life miserable while in the home. Even so, both parties should work through the legal divorce channels to ensure the best overall outcome for all parties involved.
What Does Marital Abandonment Mean In California?
In no-fault divorce states, marital abandonment doesn’t have to be proven. Rather, the abandoned spouse moves forward with the divorce proceedings through their county family law courts. In other states, where divorce fault must be proven, the abandoned spouse has more to do to secure the evidence required to prove they were abandoned.
Although marital abandonment does not affect how a divorce is filed in California, it can affect the divorce process.
Child support, custody, and visitation
If a spouse abandons both the marriage and the children, it will affect child support and custody decisions. In most cases, someone who completely abandons a marriage and children already knows this. However, it’s increasingly harder to get out of paying child support due to the court’s harsh penalties, such as garnishing wages and tax returns, suspending a person’s driver’s license, seizing bank accounts, or suspending their passport.
Spousal support
The grounds for getting spousal support in California are evolving due to the reality that most households have two working adults. Spousal support is only awarded in cases where one person doesn’t work or makes considerably less money than the other. In this case, it may be awarded – typically for a limited time. Also, unemployment rarely works to get out of spousal support as the court still looks at your employment/earnings history and often provides a limited grace period before you’re expected to be employed and pay again.
Settling of assets
California is also a community property state, and that doesn’t change just because one person abandoned the marriage. Ultimately, any assets acquired during the marriage – and that wasn’t the result of an inheritance or personal gift – are split 50/50. However, the deserter is accountable for all of the money they didn’t pay toward house, car, insurance, and other financial obligations. All of these will be accounted for during the divorce proceedings to make sure you get your money – and potential interest losses – back.
Take precautions for your future
Abandoned spouses are vulnerable. You must honor the legal tenets of your marriage agreement (community property) while simultaneously protecting yourself. We recommend reading “You’re Divorced: What happens now” to begin thinking about how to move forward concerning your marital agreement.
Filing for immediate legal separation is probably the best bet, for now, allowing you to extricate yourself from shared financial accounts and
Consult With A Family Law Specialist To Resolve Marriage Abandonment
Typically, we recommend divorce mediation to avoid the intensifying stress and financial costs that accrue in a normal divorce battle. However, mediation isn’t possible if you’ve experienced marriage abandonment and have lost contact with your spouse. In that case, we recommend consulting with a divorce lawyer who can work with you through the steps required to finalize your divorce. Contact the Law Offices of Gerard A. Falzone to begin working through the dissolution of your marriage after abandonment.