What Does It Mean That California Is A Community Property State
Nov 24th, 2008 by Jon D. Alexander, Esq.
California is a community state. In fact it’s one of only nine community property states. Community property law stands for the proposition that a husband and wife will be considered co-owners of property similar to a partnership entity.
In this state all the property owned by a couple fits into one of three categories. It is easier community property, separate property, or quasi-community property.
The characterization of the piece of property that is, community, separate, or quasi-community determines how it will be divided in divorce. Community property is defined under California state law as all property, real or personal, wherever situated, acquired by married persons during the marriage while domiciled in the state.
Property that is acquired during marriage that is from the beginning of the marriage until the date of separation is owned by both spouses. How? Each spouse owns a distinct one half interest in the property.
Separate property is property that either spouse owns before the marriage, after separation, or property that was received during the marriage either by inheritance or gift. For example, let’s say that you received a large sum of money as inheritance from your rich uncle. The money is yours and will be considered separate property at divorce.
Your income earned during the marriage will be considered community property unless it originates from separate property. This means that even if you hold the money in a separate account it is still deemed to be community property
Quasi-Community Property is a little trickier. It is defined under the law as: all real or personal property, wherever situated, acquired before or after the operative date of this code in any of the following ways: (a) By either spouse while domiciled elsewhere which would have been community property if the spouse who acquired the property had been domiciled in this state at the time of its acquisition. (b) In exchange for real or personal property, wherever situated, which would have been community property if the spouse who acquired the property so exchanged had been domiciled in this state at the time of its acquisition.
quasi-community property refers to that property acquired by a couple when they lived in an equitable distribution state before moving to California. In California, however, was a community property is treated just like community property.
Unfortunately there’s an even trickier part: often times separate property can be calm community property during the normal course of the marriage. This does happen frequently and sometimes results in a nasty surprise. If you’re considering a divorce please contact me immediately to discuss these issues and help you avoid nasty surprises. Click on the links below to visit my webpage and schedule a free consultation.
