Monday, 25 May 2009

What Does It Mean That California Is A Community Property State

By Jon D. Alexander, Esq.

California is a community property state. It is one of only nine other community property states in America. Under community property law, husbands and wives are deemed co-owners of property much like a partnership.

In the state of California property owned by a couple is deemed at divorce to fit into one of three categories. A court will consider either 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.

Income that was earned during the marriage is generally considered community property unless the income originates from separate property. In sum, your income during a marriage is going to be considered community property even if it's held in a separate count in your name or your spouse's name.

Quasi-community property is a little bit tricky. 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.

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