Property acquired by a married couple whereas domiciled outdoors of California, which might have been categorized as group property had it been acquired whereas residing in California, is handled as separate property in the course of the marriage. Upon divorce or loss of life, nonetheless, this property, termed quasi-community property, is topic to division or inheritance in a lot the identical approach as group property. For example, if a pair strikes to California after accumulating belongings in one other state, a home bought in that different state, solely in a single partner’s title, could be thought-about quasi-community property.
This classification gives vital safety to non-acquiring spouses, making certain a good and equitable division of belongings acquired in the course of the marriage, no matter the place the couple lived. It prevents one partner from claiming all belongings as separate property just because they have been acquired outdoors of California. This idea displays California’s robust public coverage favoring equal division of marital belongings and protects the monetary pursuits of each spouses upon dissolution of marriage or loss of life. Its historic growth stems from a recognition that migrating {couples} ought to obtain the identical property rights protections afforded to long-term California residents.