If you have never been married before, you are probably used to your property being just yours. When you get married, however, everything changes. After you get married, your income and property may become marital or community property. Everyone who is married or plans on being married should be aware of marital and community property rules.
California and a few other states are community property states. Under community property laws, all assets acquired during the marriage are considered community property. Marital property in community property states are owned by both spouses equally. Assets include income, property bought with that income, and debt accrued during the marriage. Community property ends when the couple physically separates with the intention of not continuing the marriage, meaning any assets acquired after this time is considered separate property.
Any assets acquired before the marriage is considered separate property as well and is owned only by the spouse who originally owned it. If a spouse desires, however, they can transfer the title of any of his or her separate property to the other spouse as a gift, or to the community property. For instance, a spouse could make their spouse an account holder on their bank account. Spouses can also choose to commingle their separate property with their community property. An example of this would be if a spise added funds from before the marriage to community property funds.
Under community property laws, a spouse may not transfer, alter, or eliminate any whole piece of community property without the other spouse’s permission. However, a spouse can choose to manage their own half of the property however they wish, but the whole piece of property includes the other spouse’s one half interest. This means that a spouse cannot be alienated from their half of the property.
Separate property is:
- Property owned by just one spouse before the marriage
- Property given to just one spouse before or during the marriage
- Property inherited by just one spouse
Community property is:
- Money either spouse earned during the marriage
- Things bought with money either spouse earned during the marriage
- Separate property that has become so mixed with community property that it can’t be identified
If a couple divorces or is legally separated, the community property is divided evenly. Separate property is not divided and is distributed to the spouse who owns it. Certain economic circumstances sometimes allow certains assets to be awarded wholly to one spouse, but each spouse will still end up with 50 percent of all community property in terms of total economic value. This is true in regards to marital homes, since the house itself can not be divided in half. For the marital home, it is common for one spouse to be awarded the home, while the other spouse receives other assets that’s value is equal to half the value of the home. Before going into the marriage, a couple should enter into an agreement that outlines how the marital property would be divided upon divorce.
