Community Property: What's His Or Hers Is Theirs

Community property resembles tenants in common or Joint tenancy though it's reserved for those whom are married. Here's a look at community property.

Many a Texas cartoon about divorce has ended with the punchline: "And she got my bass boat!" That's because the forlorn ex-husband acquired his bass boat during the marriage, which automatically made it community property.

Texas is one of nine states, plus the Puerto Rico jurisdiction, that practices Community Property law. The other states are California, Arizona, Idaho, Louisiana, Nevada, New Mexico, Washington and Wisconsin.

The idea of community property is that all property gained during the time of marriage belongs equally to husband and wife. The law deems that they've shared equally in the maintenance of the marriage and family, so therefore they share equally in its assets - even if only one of them earned the money used to buy the property.

In most of the states where Community Property law holds, it's a carryover is a holdover from the colonial influence of Mexico and Spain (we can only surmise that Wisconsin thought it was a good idea and imported it from the American West). Community property as an ownership concept has been traced as far back as the Moors (Arabs) and the Visigoths, both invading groups that conquered Spain for a time and clearly left their mark.

Under community property, husband and wife hold all property in fifty-fifty partnership, without the need to specify it legally, such as tenants in common or joint tenancy with right of survivorship. Community property makes it easier for a surviving spouse to gain sole ownership of a family's home or other property.

Generally, property that one spouse brings into the marriage is considered "separate property" unless there's evidence that the property has been "transmuted" into Community Property. For instance, such property is considered "transmuted" if the owner-spouse adds his or her spouse's name to the deed or title, stock certificate, bank account, etc. Community Property states' rules on "transmuting" separate property vary widely.

When spouses living in a community property state divorce, their property is divided in different ways. For example, in Texas, the ex-husband of the cartoon probably lost his beloved boat because of what's known as "equitable distribution, " which often results in the trade or sale of property. States that don't have Community Property also practice "equitable distribution" in divorce, so husbands and wives might want to think twice before risking a much-loved asset - house, car, boat, jewelry - in a split.

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