Understanding California Community Property Law

The courts look at marriages like partnerships in the State of California, so when it comes to divorce, spouses are co-owners.

If you live in California and are contemplating or about to actually
file for a divorce, you need to be aware that California is a community
property state, one of only nine like it in the United States.
Community property means that spouses are regarded as co-owners of
property, like being in a partnership.

There are three categories that married spouses may fit into when
facing a divorce in California, the first being community property; the
second being separate property; and the third being quasi-community
property. Why the different categories when a couple is getting
divorced?

The category the property happens to fall into controls how it is
divided when the divorce is final. For instance, California’s community
property law says community property is considered to be “all”
property, no matter where it is located, that was acquired by the
married couple while they lived in California. If the property is
located within California, the California law classifies such property
as community property. If the property is located outside the State of
California, it is called quasi-community property.

Generally speaking, the couple both own property that they bought
between the time they were married and the day they separated. Each of
them owns a one-half interest in that property. This is what is
referred to as community property, with both people owning it at the
same time.

On the other hand, separate property is property that either spouse
owned “before” the marriage or after separation. Or, it might also be
assets that were received during the marriage as a gift or an
inheritance. An example of this might be if a relative gifted an
ancestral home to the wife. That home is then hers and is considered to
be separate property at divorce time.

On another note relating to separate property: if any money is
earned from that property, it is considered separate. However, if
income is generated by both spouses and it is not related to the
separate property, it is community property and it doesn’t matter if
the money is in separate bank accounts.

Things tend to get a bit complicated when it comes to the
quasi-community property category. The law looks at that as all
property, no matter where it is located, or if it was bought before or
after the operative date of the community property code. Wait, it gets
worse, as here are the various ways property may be acquired: by either
partner while living someplace else, which would have been community
property if the person who bought it had been living in California when
it was purchased; or if the property was acquired by exchange, then it
would have been community property if the person who exchanged it had
been living in California when the property was exchanged.

Talk about confusing to say the least. So to simplify things a bit,
typically quasi-community property means a property acquired by a
couple when they lived in an equitable distribution state prior to
living in California. Once they move to California, their
quasi-community property is treated like community property.

There’s one other thing that divorcing California couples need to
know and that is that there are instances where separate property may
become community property during the course of the marriage. To say
this would come as a really unpleasant surprise is an understatement.

If you are contemplating filing for a divorce in California, make
sure you hire an expert divorce lawyer who will outline the details
about community property and guide you through the tangled divorce
process.

Renee Cary writes for Irvine divorce attorney, Gerald Maggio of The Maggio Law Firm. To learn more about Irvine divorce lawyer, Gerald Maggio visit Maggiolawfirm.com.