California Law

• California is a community property state. This means that any property, or assets, acquired during a marriage belong to both spouses equally. Even if you buy an asset, such as real estate, in your name alone, it still is owned by both of you if you bought it after your wedding day and before a separation or divorce. Exceptions to this rule include a gift that is specifically given to one spouse, an inheritance or property that was owned by one of you prior to the marriage and was never incorporated as a shared asset.
  
  

Property Determination

• It's important to differentiate whether property is characterized as being owned by one or both of you. For example, money earned during the marriage by one spouse is the property of both under California law. If you had an inheritance that was used by both of you, such as real estate, and its use and expenses have been shared by you and your spouse, this may have been separate property that is now community property because it has been incorporated into both of your assets. Also, if separate property is formally converted to community property by title or agreement, then it is considered to have transmuted from one characterization to the other.
  
  

Bank Accounts

• A joint checking account is considered community property in California. If you own an account under your name alone and use it to deposit your paychecks, it still is considered community property because income earned during a marriage in California is not separate. If it contains money that was earned or inherited before the marriage, but the account has since been used to co-mingle marital money, more than likely it falls under the community property laws of the state.
  
  

Separation and Divorce

• After a legal separation or when living apart prior to divorce, your earnings become separate property under California marriage laws. However, if you and your spouse are no longer living together, but still have community property money in a checking account, you both should notify the other when the money is used. Either spouse can withdraw money for living expenses, unless an order is imposed by the courts that money from the account cannot be used until it is divided by the divorce decree. If one of you takes money out that the court determines belongs to the other, it will have to be repaid.