Even in the most straightforward divorce, it’s common to encounter some complicating factors. In addition to the thorny personal and emotional matters, you will likely confront various logistical challenges as you work through the main issues in a divorce: asset division, child custody, and spousal/child support.
Family law attorneys are seeing a surge in one situation that can complicate financial matters during a dissolution process: gig work.
The Oxford Dictionary defines gig work as “temporary or freelance work performed by an independent contractor on an informal or on-demand basis.” Gig work is not performed as a full-time employee of a company. Some gig workers have full-time jobs that supplement income as a side hustle. Others piece together an entire living with one or more forms of part-time, project-based work.
Today, an enormous range of jobs qualify as gig work: driving for a rideshare platform, delivering food or groceries ordered online, freelance web design, social media management, content or copywriting, graphic design. Private tutors, adjunct professors, dog walkers, landscapers, wedding singers, strategy consultants…. There’s gig work in almost any field, from jobs nearly anyone can pick up for extra income to highly skilled creative, tech, and financial work.
Freelancing is not new, but it has exploded in recent years. Covid lockdowns, in particular, permanently changed the employment landscape, significantly increasing the amount and types of work done remotely and digitally. A 2018 study by American University found 2.5 million people in the U.S. doing gig work through on-demand platforms. In 2025, it’s estimated that 35-50% of American workers will be involved in gig work, which is expected to exceed half the workforce by 2027. Globally, about 1.1 billion people are doing various short-term, part-time, on-demand jobs.
It’s easy to understand the appeal of freelancing. Many people feel that what they lose in stability and consistency they make up for in flexibility, independence, exciting opportunities, diversity of projects, and more. For parents, the ability to work from home, make their own schedule, and adapt hours to accommodate the kids’ school and activities can be very helpful. Other families find they need the supplemental income of gig work just to get by.
Of course, some of what makes gig work attractive is also what makes it challenging—especially during divorce.
A big part of a freelancer’s job is chasing down the next job or client. You may not have a full-time job, but it seems like you work all the time just generating more work. The nature of gig work is that it’s uneven and somewhat unpredictable. A lot of it is seasonal—think of gardeners and wedding photographers who can’t catch a breath between May and October but slow down in the off-season.
Freelancers take work when they can get it—sometimes there are dry seasons, and sometimes you’re drinking from a firehose. This means gig workers tend to experience big financial fluctuations, month to month and year, depending on many external factors.
So, how does this all impact a divorce?
First, unlike a salaried full-time employee, gig workers have no paid vacation—you make money only when you do the work and can lose clients by taking time off. Therefore, the time-consuming divorce process, in and of itself, can present logistical and financial challenges. Necessary work time can interfere with divorce proceedings, while crucial court dates can cause you to lose vital work time, which can mean losing clients and income. Divorce stress can affect your productivity.
But the financial implications don’t stop there. Gig work can significantly complicate support calculations and asset division.
Child and spousal support are separate calculations, but both rely on accurate and transparent income reporting—the court considers all income sources. Gig workers often have multiple income streams, and some may be cash payments, making them difficult to track down. Big fluctuations also make support calculations challenging, requiring the court to estimate a baseline income. A devious spouse may try to evade or reduce their support responsibility by concealing or underreporting income or by intentionally working less. On the other hand, an honest, hardworking freelancer may experience periods where work is legitimately scarce. In some cases, the court will impute income—assign support based on the income it believes the individual should be making from a reasonable number of gigs.
Child support payments are based on a formula that considers numerous factors, including each parent’s income and the amount of time each parent spends with the child. This can create a difficult cycle: a freelancing parent may take on more work to meet child support obligations, which reduces the amount of time they can spend with the child, which, in turn, can increase the calculation of support responsibility.
Meanwhile, a custodial parent who is a gig worker may not be able to take on as many jobs, limiting their earning power.
Regarding asset division, it’s important to remember that California is a community property state. With few exceptions, all assets acquired during a marriage will be split 50/50 in a divorce. This can include one spouse’s business if it was started during the marriage or begun before the marriage but supported with joint funds.
Independent contractors may be classified as sole proprietors for tax purposes, bringing the complexity of business ownership into the asset division process.
Several pieces of legislation in California over the last few years (particularly AB5 and Prop 22) have clarified gig work vs. employment. During a California divorce, freelancers must understand how their work is classified, keep detailed income records, and be completely transparent in disclosure. While the state provides various self-help resources, it’s also essential to have the support of an attorney who understands the nuances of getting divorced as a gig worker.
The knowledgeable and experienced family lawyers at SFLG are skilled in handling complex financial circumstances—including freelancing—during your dissolution.
By Debra Schoenberg
