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SEPARATION, TRANSMUTATION OF PROPERTY IN CALIFORNIA MARRIAGE

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Separate property in regards to marriage in California is covered under Family Code § 771.  It states that:  “The earnings and accumulations of a spouse and the minor living with, or in the custody of, the spouse, while living separate and apart from the other spouse are the separate property of the spouse.”

This period can include any time after initial separation but before reconciliation.  There is nothing in the statute to indicate that any property earned during a period when the parties were living ‘separate and apart’ should be characterized as community property.  Additionally, section 771 does not prohibit multiple separation dates when characterizing a community’s property.

If parties possess the intent to separate and end their marriage, California law dictates that any property acquired thereafter by a spouse is his or her separate property.  However, the law is clear in stating that behavior alone cannot transmute property.

California case law dictates that the character of property as separate or community is fixed as of the time it is acquired.  The character cannot be altered unless by some means recognized by law, judicial decree, or the parties’ agreement.  This is what transmutation is all about.

If it is community property when acquired, it remains so throughout the marriage unless the spouses agree to change its nature or the spouse charged with its management makes a gift of it to the other.  Moreover, separate property does not change its character automatically as a result of marriage, or use during marriage.

California has strict requirements as to what is required to transmute property.  It cannot be done by conduct alone.

Family Code § 852 imposes certain requirements on marital transmutations, including that a transmutation “is not valid unless made in writing by an express declaration that is made, joined in, consented to, or accepted by the spouse whose interest in the property is adversely affected.”  Furthermore, section 852 states the requirements for a valid transmutation in California.  A change in character is not valid unless made in writing by an express declaration that is “made, joined in, consented to, or accepted by the spouse whose interest in the property is adversely affected.”



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