Definition of "Community property"

Property owned and held jointly and equally shared by each spouse. It is purchased during their marriage, regardless of the wage-earning situation of either spouse. A spouse may not make a gift of or dispose of community property without valuable consideration and written consent of the other spouse. Also, necessaries such as furniture etc, may not be disposed of without written consent of the other spouse. On a co-owners death, one half belongs to the survivor as separate party. One half goes by will to the descendant devises or by succession to the survivor. Property owned before marriage, and property acquired after marriage by gift, inheritance, or by purchase with separate funds can be exempted from the couples community property. Such property is called separate property and can be conveyed or mortgaged without the signature of the owners spouse.

image of a real estate dictionary page

Have a question or comment?

We're here to help.

*** Your email address will remain confidential.
 

 

Popular Real Estate Terms

Group of rental occupants acting together. ...

Doing business as, or DBA, means an official moniker for your enterprise or company. Regularly, a DBA is a state certificate serving as a registration name and issued under a ...

Financial standing of a debtor as a basis to pay obligations. ...

An insurance company or underwriter. An insurance policy is a legal instrument assuming the risk of loss for stated perils to real property in exchange for insurance premiums paid. ...

Combined action of two or more people either for or against something. In real estate, used to indicate a common property ownership interest. Joint is also used to indicate a shared ...

Pit or cavity built into the basement of a building to avoid or minimize flooding. It allows for the drainage of excess water and moisture. ...

tenancy having no written lease or contract. A periodic tenancy can be on a month-to-month or week-t-week basis. ...

Valuing real property based on the expected cost to buy property of identical value. The replacement cost to build a structure should be based on current prices. The appraisal should ...

Economic policies designed to reduce the fluctuation in the business cycle. An example is Federal reserve monetary policies. An attempt by an underwriter to prevent a market price of a ...

Popular Real Estate Questions