Holding title to real property is a type of ownership available to married couples only. There are currently nine states which offer community property status. These states are: Arizona, California, Idaho, Louisiana, Nevada, New Mexico, Texas, Washington and Wisconsin. The "marital property act" defined Wisconsin as a community-property state, but individual circumstances will dictate hot this act is interpreted.

The property laws in these nine states look at property purchased during a marriage as community property and both husband and wife have an equal right to possess the property during their marriage. In some states, upon the death of either spouse, the surviving spouse automatically receive half of the community property. With community property, neither spouse may sell his or her own share. To transfer the property to someone else, both husband and wife must sign the deed. When one spouse dies and leaves no will, the surviving spouse may acquire the property, but unlike joint tenancy, either spouse may will his half interest to others if he or she so chooses.

Community property laws may become complex, especially when dividing up assets upon a dissolution of the marriage. You may have heard of the divorced couple in which the ex husband filed for his share of the proceeds of the lottery winnings of his former wife. Apparently, his wife had won the lottery, while they were still married, and failed to tell her husband of her winnings. They then divorced and the wife did not reveal these lottery winnings as assets at the time of the dissolution. The husband found out some time later, filed for his share in court, and was awarded the full amount of the lottery money. This occurred in a Community Property state, where all assets of a married couple acquired during the marriage are considered "community property." If you have any doubts as to Community Property law in your state, you may want to consult with an attorney, to be certain what the implications are of holding title as community property.

Published: January 14, 2000

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Sandy Gadow, author of All About Escrow and Real Estate Closings, now in it's Sixth Edition, is a frequent guest speaker on national radio as the escrow expert, has more than 25 years experience in escrow, title and real estate. A licensed mortgage broker and real estate sales associate, Sandy is a member of the California Escrow Association and the National Association of Real Estate Editors. Come visit Sandy at http://www.escrowhelp.com or E-mail your questions to Sandy at: escrowpub@aol.com