Community Property Laws

In the U.S., community property laws apply when it comes to dividing marital property in nine states. Other states use a system of equitable division to determine how assets are divided when a marriage ends in separation, divorce, or death.

A marital home may be included in a divorce settlement.

As of 2009, there are the nine community property states:

• Arizona
• California
• Idaho
• Louisiana
• New Mexico
• Nevada
• Texas
• Washington
• Wisconsin

In a community property state, all marital property accumulated from the date of marriage to the date of separation is designated as community property. Community property includes the following types of assets:

• Art
• Boats
• Cars
• House
• Recreation home
• Salary or wages
• Savings

All of the couple's personal property accumulated during the marriage is considered community property and subject to division under these laws.

If you live in a community property state, marital property can be divided in different ways and still satisfy the legal requirements that it be split equally. In some situations, each person is awarded a half share of bank accounts and any retirement accounts. If the couple owns a primary residence as well as a vacation property that are equal in value, the couple may agree that one person should keep the house and the other one will retain ownership of the vacation property.

Laws pertaining to community property also allow marital property to be divided equally in the form of a combination of property and cash. This strategy is used when the assets being divided between the couple are not of equal value. Consider the example of a couple who own a house and a cottage, and the house is worth $30,000 more than the cottage. Each spouse could take possession of one asset, and the person who keeps the house would pay $15,000 to the other spouse, representing half of the difference in value between the two assets.

Under community property laws, the date when the couple separated is an important one, since this date is used to determine the value of the marital property. Each state sets the "official" date of separation, and that date may be any one of the following:

• The date the couple physically separated, i.e. when one person left the marital home
• The date of legal separation
• The date the divorce papers are filed with the Court and given a court file number or a docket number
• The date that the divorce or legal separation is granted by a judge
• The date that a divorce agreement is accepted by the Court or a judge issues a divorce judgment

Some states will allow a couple to agree to a certain date of separation. Since this date determines the value of the marital property under community property laws, it can become something that separated couples fight over. A husband who gets or is expecting a bonus from his employer may want to have the date of separation set before he receives the payment so that it is not subject to division, while his wife may want to argue for a later date so that it will be factored into the property settlement.

A person who lives in a community property state can choose to waive his or her rights to this method of dividing marital property. This can be done by way of a prenuptial agreement or an agreement signed after the marriage. If this is a step you are considering, you need to get independent legal advice first. The agreement may be voided during the marriage or after separation, as long as both spouses agree. If the agreement is a valid one, the Court will likely enforce it in a divorce judgment.

• Community Property with Right of Survivorship
• Divorce Equitable Distribution
• Division of Marital Property

• Free Legal Separation Forms
• Divorce Statistics
• Legal Separation
• Filing for Legal Separation
• Green Card Divorce

• Is Florida a Community Property State
• Main Page
• Is Mississippi a Community Property State
• List Community Property States
• Community Property Law California