A divorce judgment may divide the family home, retirement accounts, bank accounts, debts, and other property. But sometimes an asset or debt is unintentionally—or deliberately—left unresolved.

Discovering omitted property after a divorce is final does not necessarily mean it is too late to address it. California family courts retain continuing authority to divide community assets and liabilities that were never adjudicated in the original judgment.

What Counts as an Omitted Asset?

The key issue is whether the asset or debt was actually adjudicated in the divorce judgment.

An asset does not necessarily have to have been completely unknown when the divorce occurred to qualify as omitted property. According to the source materials, the property may have been known to the parties but still be subject to later division if it was never actually adjudicated.

This distinction is important.

For example, the parties might have known that a particular financial interest existed but failed to include a provision dividing it in their final judgment. The fact that the asset was previously known does not necessarily prevent the family court from addressing it later.

Does the Original Judgment Have to Reserve Jurisdiction?

No express reservation of jurisdiction over the omitted property is necessarily required.

The source materials explain that the court has continuing jurisdiction to divide community property that was not previously adjudicated even when the original judgment did not expressly reserve jurisdiction over that property.

The court’s authority can also extend to omitted community debts.

This means spouses should distinguish between property that was actually divided in the judgment and property that was simply never resolved.

What if the Original Divorce Was a Default?

Omitted property can also arise in a default divorce.

A spouse might assume that the entire default judgment must first be set aside before an omitted community asset can be addressed. The source materials explain, however, that when property was omitted from a default judgment, setting aside the default judgment is not necessarily required because the court retains continuing jurisdiction over the omitted property.

The appropriate procedure and ultimate division will depend on the circumstances surrounding the particular asset or debt.

Review the Judgment Against the Actual Property

When a divorce is completed, it can be useful to compare the judgment with the assets and liabilities that actually existed.

Retirement benefits, business interests, investment accounts, deferred compensation, debts, and less obvious financial interests can sometimes be overlooked.

Finding something after judgment does not automatically establish how it should be divided. But if a community asset or liability was never adjudicated, the fact that the divorce itself is already final does not necessarily prevent the family court from addressing that unfinished property issue.