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

Administering and directing the activities of a real estate brokerage firm to assure they are in compliance with regulations and policies. ...

Member Of the American Institute of Real Estate Appraisers. ...

Body o law relating directly to condominiums and cooperative developments. Most property law provides vertical ownership of property in the sense that property owners own mineral rights as ...

Money paid for a real estate project or investment that can be taken off on the tax return as an expense. Expenditures made during construction of a building that do not go directly into ...

Value is exchanged by the parties to an agreement involving current or future performance making it legally enforceable. Without reasonable consideration for performance, the contract may ...

Welcome to the world of magical yet perplexing real estate! Undeniably, there's a lot to learn, but we're here to explain miscellaneous terminology so that you can make educated decisions. ...

Removal of a tenant from a portion of a rented or leased premise. ...

Need to know the Ad Litem definition after coming across this weird term? Ad litem is short for “Guardian Ad Litem” or “Attorney Ad litem”, a legal term that ...

Determining the measurements of a specific location. ...

Popular Real Estate Questions