Silicon Valley Business School

Contents of SVBS Course: Community Property

Married business owners, entrepreneurs, patent holders, executives and anyone holding property will have an interest in how the property is divided on death or divorce. California and several other U.S. states operate a form of marital property sharing known as "Community Property". This module presents the core rules of community property, explaining how marital and personal property are divided between spouses on divorce or death of a spouse.

Learning Objectives and Outcomes

Upon completion of this course you will be able to:

Understand how the rules of community property, as applied in California and many of the Western U.S. states, divide the ownership of marital assets upon death and divorce.


Course Sections

The course is organized into the following sections:

Community Property: Ownership and Division of Marital Property in Community Property States
Community Property: Issues that Arise in Community Property Cases
Community Property

Community Property
Community Property: Ownership and Division of Marital Property in Community Property States
  • Video ~ History & Source of Law
  • Community property came to California via Mexico, from Spanish, Arabic and Visigoth ancestry. U.S. states follow either community property or common law rule. There are nine U.S. community property states, mostly in the Western part of the country.

  • Video ~ Community Property ~ Basic Rules
  • Under the basic rules of Community Property, property assets (excluding gifts and inheritance) that are acquired by either spouse during the marriage are "Community Property". Community Property is owned equally by husband and wife.

  • Video ~ Invisible Transfers at Death
  • Video ~ Some Important Dates
  • Community Property Overview
  • Community property issues can arise in divorce proceedings and after the death of a spouse. When spouses divorce or die, spouses are often left with the daunting task of splitting up property and proceeds that were acquired during the marriage. This can include items of value such as cars, furniture, paintings, and family homes, but may also include intangible assets (such as stocks, bonds, and legal title), and also debt.

  • Who Owns What in Marital Property?
  • Who owns what property in a marriage, after divorce, or after a spouse's death depends on whether the couple lives in a common law property state or a community property state.

  • Taxes & Basic Principles of Community Property Law
  • Marriage & Property Ownership: Who Owns What?
  • Paper ~ The Origin And Civil Law Foundation Of The Community Property System, Why California Adopted It, And Why Community Property Principles Benefit Women.
  • This article discusses the origin of the community property system in the western United States by paying particular attention to the legal and historical climate which nurtured it. It shows how this civil law system of marital property law differs from a common law system, and how it can be traced back to the Visigothic Code. The article introduces seven factors to explain why community property was adopted in California. The article begins by defining community property. It ends with a discussion of why community property principles benefit women, especially women who enter marriage propertyless.

    Community Property: Issues that Arise in Community Property Cases
  • Video ~ Married or Acquired Property Out of State
  • Video ~ Dividing Property at Divorce
  • The community estate, including community property and quasi community property, is split into 50:50 on divorce. If it is not possible to make the division mathematically equal, then it is aimed to be “substantially equal”. The court can award an asset like a business to one spouse and offset with house or another asset to the other spouse.

  • Video ~ Splitting Quasi-Community Property at Divorce
  • Video ~ Marital Agreements
  • Video ~ Transmutation
  • Video ~ Business Interests
  • Video ~ Debts
  • Video ~ Separate Bank Accounts
  • Video ~ Joint Tenancy & Divorce
  • Joint tenancy is joint ownership of property, usually real estate with the right of survivorship. So both co-owners have equal use of the property until one of them dies. Then the property ownership goes to the surviving owner. In California, pre-1985, joint tenancy was presumed to be separate property. Since 1985, joint tenancy owned by one spouse is now presumed community property unless it can be proved to be separate property through a written agreement.

  • Video ~ Increase in Value of Real Estate Property
  • Video ~ Pensions
  • In California, pensions started before the marriage are subject to rules of apportionment. If a spouse participated in a pension for 20 years, and was married for 12 of those years, then 60% of the pension is community property.

  • Video ~ Insurance Policies
  • Video ~ Personal Injury Damages
  • Video ~ Wills & Community Property
  • Video ~ Non-Spousal Partners
  • Certificate Course
    This certificate tracks your progress and tests you in each section. Once you have passed all the quizzes, submitted an assignment and reviewed all the materials, you will be awarded a certificate of completion.