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Any assets acquired before the marriage are considered separate property, and are owned only by that original owner. A spouse can, however, transfer the title of any of their separate property to the other spouse (gift) or to the community property (making a spouse an account holder on bank account).

Generally, in community property states, money earned by either spouse during marriage and all property bought with those earnings are considered community property that is owned equally by husband and wife. Likewise, debts incurred during marriage are generally debts of the couple.

If you live in a community property state, anything acquired during the marriage including the income used to fund those separate accounts is considered community property and therefore belongs to both spouses.

Marital Property and Community Property StatesCommunity property states follow the rule that all assets acquired during the marriage are considered "community property." Marital property in community property states are owned by both spouses equally (50/50).

In these states, all property of a married person is classified as either community property (owned jointly by both spouses) or the separate property of one spouse. Marital property refers generally to all of the property acquired by either or both spouses during the marriage.

In Washington, married couples and registered domestic partners can avoid probate by signing a Community Property Agreement (CPA). ... Use a community property agreement only if you want all of your property to go to your spouse or partner.

Marital property is a U.S. state-level legal term that refers to property acquired during the course of a marriage. Property that an individual owns before a marriage is considered separate property, as are inheritances or third-party gifts given to an individual during a marriage.

California law also provides that property spouses acquire before a divorce, but after the date of separation, is separate property. ... There is a strong presumption under California divorce law that the assets a couple accumulates during the marriage are community property, meaning owned equally by the spouses.

A house owned before marriage is separate property, as is a house inherited or received as a gift. A house can be the separate property of one spouse, or both spouses can have separate property interest in the house.