community property
Shared spousal holdings
Community property is a legal system in which assets acquired during marriage belong equally to both spouses, regardless of who earned or purchased them.
About half of U.S. states follow this principle, while others use separate property rules.
Upon divorce or death, community property is typically divided equally: The house was community property, so they each got half.
Shared legal claim together
- spousal rightsLegal claims through marriage
- domestic partnershipNonmarital cohabiting relationship
- civil unionLegal spousal alternative
- spouseMarried partner
shared wealth · prenuptial agreement · postnuptial agreement · cohabitation · common law marriage · mutual obligation
Blending what should separate
- presumptionBelief held without proof
- transmutationComplete change of form
- characterizationDescribing distinctive qualities
- tracingCopying by following lines
Breaking up completely
- division of assetsDistribution of shared property
- spousal supportPayments to ex-partner
- settlementResolved dispute or colony
- mediationIntervention to resolve conflict
family law attorney · divorce decree · contested divorce · uncontested divorce · partition · valuation · appraisal · forensic accountant
West coast megastate
- TexasSecond-largest American state
- Arizona48th state admitted
- NevadaSilver State out west
- LouisianaGulf Coast pelican state
Washington · Wisconsin · Idaho · New Mexico · civil law · French law · state law · domicile
Land and its structures
- bank accountsFinancial institution holdings
- investmentsAssets bought for profit
- retirement fundsSavings for post-career life
- business interestsFinancial concerns in commerce
vehicles · household goods · income · wages · rental income · appreciation · debt · mortgage
joint ownership
Shared legal claim together
- spousal rightsLegal claims through marriage
- domestic partnershipNonmarital cohabiting relationship
- civil unionLegal spousal alternative
spouse · shared wealth · prenuptial agreement · postnuptial agreement · cohabitation · common law marriage · mutual obligation
commingling
Blending what should separate
- presumptionBelief held without proof
- transmutationComplete change of form
- characterizationDescribing distinctive qualities
dissolution
Breaking up completely
- division of assetsDistribution of shared property
- spousal supportPayments to ex-partner
- settlementResolved dispute or colony
mediation · family law attorney · divorce decree · contested divorce · uncontested divorce · partition · valuation · appraisal · forensic accountant · disclosure
California
West coast megastate
Louisiana · Washington · Wisconsin · Idaho · New Mexico · civil law · French law · state law · domicile · interstate
real estate
Land and its structures
- bank accountsFinancial institution holdings
- investmentsAssets bought for profit
- retirement fundsSavings for post-career life
business interests · vehicles · household goods · income · wages · rental income · appreciation · debt · mortgage · equity
- property rightsownership, title, deed, possession, land
- real estatehouse, home, apartment, sale, rent
- couple financesjoint account, shared expenses, household budget, shared debt, financial planning
- divorcedivorce court, divorce decree, divorce papers, divorce filing, divorce lawyer
- estate planningexecutor, trust, beneficiary, will, probate
- Marital Assetsmarital home, joint tenancy, equity, mortgage, bank accounts
community propertyseparate property
Assets owned by one spouse
individual ownership · sole ownership · personal assets · private property · severalty
community, property, proprietor, communities, proprietorship, proprietress, proprietorial, communitywide, community's