|
|
Community Property And Divorce Information
Community property is a marital property regime that
originated in civil law jurisdictions, and is now also found in some common law
jurisdictions. In a community property jurisdiction, all property acquired
during the marriage (except for gifts or inheritances) is owned jointly by both
spouses and is divided upon divorce, annulment or death. Joint ownership is
automatically presumed by law in the absence of specific evidence that would
point to a contrary conclusion for a particular piece of property. The community
property system is usually justified by the idea that such joint ownership
recognizes the theoretically equal contributions of both spouses to the creation
and operation of the family unit.
Division of community property may take place by item, by splitting all items or
by value. In some jurisdictions, a 50/50 division of community property is
mandated by law; in others a divorce court may decree an unequal division of
community property. In non-community property states property may be divided by
equitable distribution. Generally speaking, the property that each partner
brings into the marriage or receives by gift, bequest or devise during marriage
is called separate property. See division of property.
In the United States there are nine community property states: Arizona,
California, Idaho, Louisiana, Nevada, New Mexico, Texas, Washington and
Wisconsin. In addition, Puerto Rico is a community property jurisdiction.
Married couples in Alaska can also adopt community property rules, at least for
the purposes of that state's law, by signing an agreement to that effect.
Community property has certain federal tax implications, which the IRS discusses
in its Publication 555.
For more free legal information on Divorce Laws, please use the
links below:
|
