Property Division: Community vs. Separate

If you and your partner are going through a divorce, the division of property can be tricky. There are two types of property a couple must consider when they are deciding how things should be separated; community and separate.

Community Property

A community is the two partners who come together to form a marriage or registers in a domestic partnership. Any property or debts acquired by either partner during the marriage belongs to both parties equally.

Community property includes:

• vehicles;
• accumulated income and savings;
• 401ks;
• stocks and bonds;
• real property;
• mortgages;
• credit cards;
• car loans; and/or
• other debts.

Regardless of who acquired the income or debts, the institution of marriages means that it now belongs to both parties equally.

Separate Property

Separate property is anything owed or owned by one partner before the marriage that continued to be kept separate during the marriage.

Separate property includes:

• gifts and/or inheritances received by one party during the marriage;
• student loans;
• property acquired while either spouse was living in separation; or
• any property acquired using separate funds.

Some separate property can become community property (or vice versa) during the marriage. To do so, one person must create a document agreeing to the property change from one form to the other. Without a written agreement, the property will continue to be considered as it was originally (community or separate).

Cianci Law, PC Can Help You Divide Your Property

Our attorneys have extensive knowledge of the intricacies of divorce. We can help you and your partner reach a mutually beneficial decision.

Contact our firm online or call us at (916) 797-1575 for your case evaluation.