The Basics

Question 1

What is community property?

Answer 1

Property:
-acquired by labor of either spouse during marriage
-owned equally at moment of acquisition
-can bargain around split
-1/2 split upon death/divorce

Question 2

What is separate property?

Answer 2

property earned before or during marriage by:
-all property owned by person during marriage
-property acquired by gift, bequest, devise, or descent
-earnings + accumulation while living separate and apart from other spouse
-earnings + accumulations after judgment of legal separation

Question 3

What is QCP?

Answer 3

Property that would be CP had it been acquired by either party while domiciled in California —> bought a house in Texas, moved to CA

Question 4

Dual character property

Answer 4

-property with both SP and CP interest
-usually acquired over time

Question 5

Promoting divorce 1986?

Question 6

Common law marriage?

Answer 6

-NOT in CA
-not enough to tell people married, acting as married, living together
-common law marriage will be recognized from a state with CL marriages

Question 7

Lawful Marriage Req.

Answer 7

-Legal capacity
-satisfy legal requirements for contracting marriage

Question 8

Legal capacity

Answer 8

-over 18
-unmarried
-have capacity to be married

Question 9

legal reqs. for marriage

Answer 9

-license
-solemnization (judge, clergy, online cert, etc etc)
-recorded w/ county clerk

Question 10

Putative Spouse

Answer 10

-good faith belief in marriage w/ legal error preventing legitimacy
-once one spouse learns it is invalid it loses validity AND future acquired property
-judge can treat property as quasi-marital property

Question 11

quasi-martial property

Answer 11

Property rights of putative spouses treated same as CP

Question 12

Presumption of CP

Answer 12

1) probability
2) access to evidence
3) public policy
4) judicial economy