**Community Property** (noun) — A system of marital property ownership in which most assets acquired during the marriage are owned equally by both spouses, regardless of who earned the money or whose name is on the title.
In community property jurisdictions, almost everything acquired during marriage belongs equally to both spouses. It doesn't matter whose paycheck bought it or whose name is on the title—it's split 50/50.
This differs from "separate property" (property owned before marriage or received as a gift or inheritance during marriage, which remains individual property). Community property only applies to things acquired through work or investment during the marriage.
Only certain jurisdictions use community property systems. If you live in one, it affects everything: divorce settlements, estate planning, property rights. In these places, you can only give away your half of community property in your will—your spouse already owns the other half.
⏱ When you'll encounter this term
Community property significantly affects estate planning. You cannot will away your spouse's half of community property. If you try to leave "my house" to your children in a community property jurisdiction, you can only give your half—your spouse owns the other half already.
This causes confusion when couples move between community property and non-community property jurisdictions. Property that would be jointly owned in one place might be separately owned in another, depending on where you lived when you acquired it.
You'll encounter community property issues in estate administration in jurisdictions that use this system. Determining what's community property versus separate property often requires tracing assets back to their source, examining when and where they were acquired, and whether they've been commingled.
**Related terms:** [Separate Property](/dictionary/separate-property), [Marital Deduction](/dictionary/marital-deduction), [Spouse](/dictionary/spouse)
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"We lived in California, a community property state. When Dad died, Mum automatically owned half of everything they'd acquired during marriage, and Dad could only leave his half in his will."