Is property in Iran, or bought before moving to California, divided in a California divorce?

It depends on when and how the property was acquired, not on where it is. Property acquired during the marriage while living in California is community property "wherever situated" (Family Code § 760), and property acquired during the marriage while living in Iran can be quasi-community property (§ 125); both are part of the community estate that a California court divides equally (§§ 63 and 2550). Property owned before the marriage, and gifts and inheritances, are separate property and are not divided (§ 770).

The question comes in two forms: "Does our apartment in Tehran count?" and "Does the house we bought before we moved here count?" This page answers both under California law, explains what you need to gather from Iran and how a California court receives those documents, and is honest about what cannot be known without them. The general rules on sorting and dividing property are on the property division page. This page does not describe Iranian property or inheritance law; questions about how a transfer is carried out in Iran need someone qualified in Iranian law.

The three labels, applied to property abroad

• Community property. Except as a statute provides otherwise, all property, real or personal, wherever situated, acquired by a married person during the marriage while domiciled in California (§ 760). An apartment in Shiraz bought in 2019 with salaries earned in Irvine is community property, even though it is in Iran.
• Quasi-community property. All real or personal property, wherever situated, acquired by either spouse while domiciled elsewhere that would have been community property if that spouse had been domiciled in California when it was acquired, and property acquired in exchange for such property (§ 125). A flat bought in Tehran in 2010 with both spouses' earnings, while the couple lived in Iran, fits this description. The "community estate" includes both community and quasi-community property (§ 63).
• Separate property. All property owned before marriage; property acquired during the marriage by gift, bequest, devise or descent; and the rents, issues and profits of that property (§ 770(a)). Earnings and accumulations after the date of separation are also separate (§ 771(a)). Land a spouse inherited from a parent in Iran stays separate, and so does the rent it produces.

So "bought before moving to California" has two different answers. Bought before the marriage: separate. Bought during the marriage but before the move, with earnings: likely quasi-community. The date of the marriage and the date of the move are the two dates that matter, along with the source of the money.

How a California court handles property in Iran, step by step

1. Fix the dates. The marriage date starts the community period; the date of separation ends it, and that date is when a spouse has expressed to the other spouse the intent to end the marriage and their conduct is consistent with that intent (§ 70). Add the dates you moved to California and each property's purchase date.
2. Disclose everything, everywhere. Each spouse serves a preliminary declaration of disclosure under penalty of perjury listing all assets in which they have or may have an interest, "regardless of the characterization" as community, quasi-community or separate, with ownership percentages where property is not solely owned (§ 2104(a) and (c)). California's stated policy is to marshal, preserve and protect community and quasi-community assets so they are not dissipated before division (§ 2100(a)).
3. Leave the property alone during the case. Once the Summons is served, both spouses are restrained from transferring, encumbering, concealing or disposing of any property, community, quasi-community or separate, without written consent or a court order, except in the usual course of business or for the necessities of life (§ 2040(a)(2)(A)). That order is not limited to property in California.
4. Characterize each item. For each property, the questions are when it was acquired, where the couple was domiciled then, and what money paid for it. Where separate and earned money were mixed, tracing the source becomes the issue, and the rule on written transmutations does not change the law on commingled property (§ 852(d)).
5. Value it. Each property in Iran needs a value supported by evidence the court will accept. The date and currency of the valuation are issues to settle in the case.
6. Divide the community estate equally, unless the spouses agree otherwise in writing or by oral stipulation in open court (§ 2550).
7. Carry out the division. For real property in another state, § 2660 tells the court to divide without changing the title there where possible, and lets it order conveyances or award money value. But the Family Code defines "state" as a U.S. state, the District of Columbia or a U.S. territory or possession (§ 145), so § 2660 by its terms does not reach property in Iran. How a division involving property in Iran is carried out depends on the facts and on what the spouses can actually do.

Documents from Iran, and how a California court receives them

The labels are only as good as the proof behind them. For each property or account, gather:

• Title and purchase records: the title deed (sanad), the purchase contract, and any official registry record showing the owner and the date.
• Proof of where the money came from: bank statements, records of a sale whose proceeds paid for the new property, and anything showing whether earnings, a gift or an inheritance paid for it.
• Inheritance and gift papers, if you claim a property is separate because it was inherited or given to you.
• Rental records, because rent follows the character of the property (§ 770(a)(3)).
• Evidence of value, with its date.

Copies of official records kept by a public office outside the United States are prima facie evidence when attested as correct copies by a person with authority and accompanied by a final statement certifying the signature and official position, made by a U.S. consular officer or a diplomatic or consular official of the foreign country assigned or accredited to the United States (Evidence Code § 1530(a)(3)). If all parties have had a reasonable opportunity to investigate the documents, the court may, for good cause, admit an attested copy without the final statement or accept an attested summary (§ 1530(a)(3)). Documents in Persian need an English translation: exhibits written in a foreign language must be accompanied by a translation certified under oath by a qualified interpreter (Cal. Rules of Court, rule 3.1110(g)), and when a writing offered in evidence cannot be understood directly, a translator who understands the language is sworn to translate it (Evidence Code § 753(a)).

What changes the answer?

• Where you were domiciled when the property was acquired. California domicile gives community property (§ 760); domicile elsewhere can give quasi-community property (§ 125).
• Whether it was acquired before or during the marriage. Property owned before marriage is separate (§ 770(a)(1)).
• The source of the money. Gifts and inheritances are separate (§ 770(a)(2)); property bought in exchange for quasi-community property is quasi-community (§ 125(b)).
• The date of separation. Earnings after it are separate (§ 771(a)), and the date is decided on all relevant evidence (§ 70(b)).
• A written agreement. Spouses can alter their property rights by a premarital or marital property agreement (§ 1500), and an equal division can be varied by written agreement or stipulation in court (§ 2550). The rules for those agreements are on the premarital agreements page. A mahr raises its own questions, covered on the mahr page. So does a half-property clause, explained on the half-property clause page.
• Whether the property was disclosed. An undisclosed asset can lead to sanctions and a set-aside of the judgment (§ 2107(c) and (d)), and the court keeps jurisdiction to divide community estate assets that the judgment did not adjudicate (§ 2556).

What we do not know without the documents

Without the papers, nobody can say whether a given apartment is separate, quasi-community or community, because that turns on dates and the source of the money. We also cannot say in advance what value the court will accept, which date and exchange rate will be used, or what a California order can accomplish for a property titled in Iran. A further question is the court's power over a spouse who lives in Iran and has never lived in California: the residency rule for divorce (§ 2320) is about the case, and orders about property and support against a spouse abroad need separate attention. Each of these depends on the facts, and the answers come from the records, not from general rules.

A worked example

For example, take a hypothetical couple in Newport Beach, Parisa and Dariush. Dariush bought an apartment in Tehran in 2003. They married in Isfahan in 2005 and, while living in Iran, bought a villa near the Caspian in 2009 with their salaries. They moved to Orange County in 2013 and bought a house in Newport Beach in 2015 with earnings from their work here. In 2018 Dariush sold the Tehran apartment and kept the proceeds in an Iranian bank account. In 2020 Parisa inherited land outside Shiraz from her father. They separate in 2026.

Sorted under California law: the Tehran apartment was Dariush's separate property (§ 770(a)(1)), and whether the money in the Iranian account is still his separate property turns on tracing the sale proceeds, which is why the sale records matter. The villa, bought with earnings during the marriage while they lived in Iran, can be quasi-community property (§ 125(a)). The Newport Beach house is community property (§ 760). Parisa's inherited land is separate (§ 770(a)(2)). Both spouses list everything, including the villa, the account and the land, on their disclosures (§ 2104(c)), and neither sells or transfers anything in Iran during the case without consent or a court order (§ 2040). The court divides the community estate, the house and the villa, equally unless they agree otherwise (§ 2550). The villa's value, and how its share is carried out, depend on the evidence they bring and what they can do in Iran. This example shows how the labels work; it does not predict a result.

Mistakes to avoid

• Leaving property in Iran off the disclosure. The duty covers all assets regardless of characterization (§ 2104(c)(1)), and failure can lead to sanctions and a set-aside (§ 2107).
• Assuming title in one name makes it separate. The label comes from when and how the property was acquired, not whose name is on the deed.
• Assuming property outside the United States is beyond the case. Community and quasi-community property are defined "wherever situated" (§§ 760 and 125).
• Selling or transferring property in Iran after the case starts. The automatic orders on the Summons apply to all property (§ 2040(a)(2)(A)).
• Mixing an inheritance into a joint account. It may still be traceable, but commingling makes proof harder (§ 852(d)).
• Relying on informal translations. Persian documents need a translation certified under oath by a qualified interpreter (rule 3.1110(g)).

What to do this week

1. Make a list of every property and account in Iran and in the United States, with the purchase date and whose name it is in.
2. Next to each, write where you were living when it was bought and what money paid for it.
3. Ask family in Iran to locate deeds, purchase contracts and inheritance papers, and start arranging official copies.
4. Arrange certified English translations by a qualified interpreter.
5. Do not sell, transfer or borrow against any property, here or in Iran, if a case has been filed.
6. If you married in Iran, read the page on marriages registered in Iran for the residency rule. The divorce page covers the full process.
7. Read about the attorney on the about page.
8. Book a meeting through the contact page and bring your list.

Frequently asked questions

Is our apartment in Tehran divided in a California divorce?

If it was bought during the marriage with earnings, it is part of the community estate whether you lived in California (community, § 760) or in Iran (quasi-community, § 125) at the time, and the community estate is divided equally (§ 2550). If one spouse owned it before the marriage or inherited it, it is separate (§ 770).

What about a house we bought before moving to California?

If you bought it before the marriage, it is the buyer's separate property. If you bought it during the marriage while living abroad, with earnings, it can be quasi-community property (§ 125).

Does my inheritance from Iran get divided?

No. Property acquired by inheritance during the marriage is separate, and so are its rents and profits (§ 770(a)). You may need to trace it if it was mixed with joint money.

Can a California judge change the title of property in Iran?

Section 2660, which deals with real property in another state, applies to U.S. states and territories (§ 145). What an order can accomplish for property in Iran depends on the facts, and a question about Iranian registration needs someone qualified in Iranian law.

What if my spouse hid property in Iran?

The disclosure is under penalty of perjury, the court must impose sanctions for noncompliance unless an exception applies, and a judgment entered without full disclosure is subject to set-aside (§ 2107(c) and (d)). The court also keeps jurisdiction to divide omitted community assets after judgment (§ 2556).

Can I use documents from Iran in court?

Yes, with the right foundation. Official copies follow Evidence Code § 1530, and Persian documents need a certified English translation (rule 3.1110(g)).

The Law Office of Sourena Sarbazevatan represents people in Orange County and San Diego in property division and divorce matters, in English and Persian (Farsi). Call (949) 591-9596 or use the contact page.