2.2.6 Community Property

The survivor’s right to a home, car, or pension may be essential to avoiding homelessness, keeping a job, or securing economic independence. While these assets may be essential for financial stability, victims of abuse routinely negotiate away financial support and assets to which they are entitled in exchange for securing safe custody arrangements for their children.1  A informed lawyer can provide legal guidance and advice on how to reduce unnecessary concessions and maintain a victim’s financial stability.

• 1Evan Stark, The Battered Mother’s Dilemma, in 2 Violence Against Women in Families and Relationships 95, 114 (Evan Stark & Eve Buzawa. eds., 2009).