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

Generally speaking, a moratorium covers a provisional or limited activity suspension. Temporary financial troubles or funding constraints can trigger issuing a lull. This postponement lasts ...

Section of the Internal Revenue Code that addresses tax-free exchanges of certain property. The general provisions for a tax-free exchange of real estate are that the properties must be ...

Predetermined price for a contract that will be the same irrespective of the actual costs incurred to complete it. This contract is advantageous to the buyer because he knows beforehand ...

Market condition in which the prices of real property are declining because of a lack of demand normally associated with a general economic slowdown. ...

Littoral refers to a piece of land bordering a large body of water that is not moving, such as an ocean, pond, sea, or lake. Many find "littoral" obscure since it's not widespread in ...

Platform erected on a roof in some New England homes having a view of the sea. It was said widows of lost seaman would walk on the platform looking out at sea for their husbands to return ...

Same as term graduated lease: A rental stipulation a varying rental rate. Rental rate are determined tied to periodic appraisals or an inflation or an inflation index. The provision is more ...

Same as term time sharing: Segregation of ownership in real estate property over a stated time period. An example is a co-owned vacation apartment, used by co-owners for one month each. ...

Current cost to replace property with an identical property after allowing for the depreciated value of the property. ...

Popular Real Estate Questions