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

Site where mobile homes are located. Mobile home parks are often mandated by municipal zoning laws. They provide necessary utilities to the mobile homes often including recreational ...

Unlimited interest in property. A freehold estate may be a fee simple or file estate. Freehold estate includes freehold in deed, a fee simple estate; freehold in law, an inheritable estate; ...

Word, or group of words, that identifies a business or one of its products. The name is registered with U.S. Patent Office and provides legal protection for an indefinite number of renewals ...

The process of changing, updating, and altering the appearance and structural characteristics of a building. For example, John remodels the kitchen in his home by replacing the cabinets, ...

To clip or prune shrubbery,etc. ...

The interest left in an estate after all costs have been deducted. For example, if a business is willed to X for life with the balance to Y upon X's death, Y has a remainder interest. ...

Wires, such as for electricity, places beneath the floor of a structure. ...

Interest based on a 360-day year instead of a 365-day year. The former is referred to as simple interest and the latter is termed exact interest. The difference between the two types of ...

(1) Financial ability and soundness of a business or individual to afford the purchase of property. (2) Worth of the dollar in real terms considering inflation. ...

Popular Real Estate Questions