When a California divorce or legal separation begins, certain restrictions are automatically imposed to prevent either spouse from taking actions that could significantly affect property, insurance, or other important interests while the case is pending. These restrictions are commonly called Automatic Temporary Restraining Orders, or ATROs. Unlike a restraining order that one spouse separately asks a judge to issue, these restrictions are part of the commencement of a marital action and apply to both parties once they become effective.

ATROs Restrict Certain Transactions Involving Property

One of the major purposes of the automatic restrictions is to preserve property while the California divorce process is underway. The parties are restrained from transferring, encumbering, concealing, or disposing of real or personal property without the other party’s written consent or a court order, subject to recognized exceptions.

Those exceptions include transactions in the usual course of business and expenditures for the necessities of life. The restrictions therefore do not mean that all financial activity must stop simply because a divorce has been filed.

The distinction between ordinary expenses and extraordinary transactions can be significant. A spouse should not assume that filing for divorce gives either party unrestricted authority to sell, transfer, hide, or borrow against property while the family court is determining the parties’ rights.

The court also has authority during the case to issue additional property restraints. Such orders may prohibit specified transactions and can require notice of proposed extraordinary expenditures and an accounting concerning those expenditures.

Insurance Is Also Protected During the Case

The automatic restrictions extend beyond houses, bank accounts, and other traditional property. They also restrict certain actions involving insurance and other coverage maintained for the benefit of the spouses or their minor children.

The restrictions cover actions such as cashing out, borrowing against, canceling, transferring, disposing of, or changing beneficiaries of covered insurance. This may include life, health, automobile, and disability coverage.

This can be particularly important when one spouse historically managed the family’s insurance. Separation does not give that spouse unrestricted authority to change covered insurance arrangements merely because the spouses are no longer living together.

The court can also make additional orders concerning property while the case is pending. For example, the court may determine the temporary use, possession, and control of real or personal property. It may also determine responsibility for paying liens or encumbrances that come due, such as obligations associated with property.

Automatic Orders Are Actual Restrictions, Not Suggestions

The word “automatic” can make ATROs sound less significant than other family court orders, but the restrictions should not be treated as informal recommendations. Once applicable, they restrict what the parties may do during the proceeding.

The timing of when the restrictions become effective is also important. For the respondent, the automatic restraining orders become effective when that party is served with the summons and petition. This is one reason service of the divorce papers has consequences beyond simply notifying the other spouse that a case has been filed.

At the same time, ATROs should not be confused with a Domestic Violence Restraining Order. Although both may impose legally enforceable restrictions, they serve different purposes and arise through different procedures. The automatic orders associated with a marital action include protections directed at preserving property and insurance while the proceeding is pending.

Know the Restrictions Before Making Major Financial Changes

The beginning of a California divorce changes more than the spouses’ marital status proceedings. Automatic temporary restraining orders can immediately affect what the parties may do with property and insurance. Before selling property, changing insurance arrangements, transferring assets, or making another unusual financial transaction, it is important to understand whether the action is restricted and whether written consent or a court order is required.