Community property states (like California) only divide in half all MARITAL assets. Assets owned by one party before (or inherited by that person during) the marriage are not divided that way. (The difficulty comes with figuring out what part of, say, a business owned by the husband before the marriage which increased in worth over the course of the marriage is a marital asset.)
If the marriage were of short duration OR if one of the parties is willing to give up claims to such assets (perhaps because they want out of the marriage but don't need/want their share of the marital assets), this would be less of an issue. If not, forensic accountants may be necessary.
Yvonne, in most instances the main difference (at least, in no-fault states) between being the filer and the other party is whether you are referred to as the "Petitioner" or "Respondent" in the various documents.
I think - and lawyers and anyone who knows more than I do feel free to correct me - that the granting of the divorce is settled first and then any division of assets/alimony/whatever is decided afterwards.
This can be done, but is not usually. My divorce, for instance, is STILL not final. Issues that had been settled keep coming back to life before a final agreement can be drawn up. One thing we have looked at is a separation of the two parts, where the actual divorce and agreement are dealt with independently. (At the moment, it looks like it may not be necessary. I am cautiously optimistic.)
And if it takes a lot of negotiation and a lot of lawyer time there might not be a lot left to divide...
>_< Tell me about it.
