Community Property

While a community property discussion is not relevant for people who live in Connecticut and only own property in Connecticut, we have decided to include a brief discussion as we find that many of our clients have once lived in a community property jurisdiction, or still own property there.

Currently, there are nine community property States: Arizona, California, Idaho, Louisiana, Nevada, New Mexico, Texas, Washington and Wisconsin. In community property jurisdictions most of the property acquired during the marriage, except gifts and inheritances, will be jointly owned by both spouses. The property will be divided on divorce, or upon the death of one of the spouses. The surviving spouse owns the decedent’s half of the property. In a community property jurisdiction, property may be included in the estate of a spouse who never really had an interest in the property. If you own property, or lived for a time in a community property state, you should attempt to determine what, if any, of your property is considered community property, and take the appropriate steps to plan accordingly. A qualified estate planning attorney can assist you with these matters.