What is quasi-community property?

California is one of several states that has community property laws. Under the Golden State’s community property system, each spouse receives a co-equal, fifty-percent share in most assets acquired during marriage. While the courts provide reasonably clear-cut definitions of what can be considered community property, couples who relocate to California could face an additional estate planning obstacle: quasi-community property.

California Law and Quasi-Community Property

California law broadly recognizes two forms of property:

Separate Property

Separate property is all property owned by a California resident before marriage, as well as all property acquired by gift, bequest, or inheritance.

Community Property

Community property is all property acquired by a couple over the course of marriage. Under most circumstances, each spouse is accorded an equal share in community property assets.

However, unlike some other community property states, California recognizes a third, more obscure form of property: quasi-community property. Quasi-community property includes all assets that would have been considered community property if the married couple had been residing in California at the time of the property’s acquisition.

Quasi-Community Property in Intestate Successions

Under the California Probate Code, quasi-community property is distributed as community property for the purposes of intestate succession—with some minor differences. When a spouse passes away with quasi-community property, one-half of the deceased spouse’s quasi-community property passes to the surviving spouse, who will retain their 50% share in the quasi-community property.

However, the deceased spouse’s estate retains no right to this inherited quasi-community property, which becomes the sole and exclusive property of the surviving spouse.

Distributing quasi-community property through a conventional estate plan presents unexpected challenges. While California law permits married couples to independently address quasi-community property concerns before death, understanding what can and cannot be considered quasi-community property can be difficult.

Do You Need to Speak With an Estate Planning Attorney?

If you need to speak with an experienced estate planning lawyer please contact us online or call us directly at 800.756.5596 to first register for one of our free, informative seminars. Your attendance will qualify you for a special discount for our estate planning services should you decide to make a free appointment at the conclusion of the seminar and choose to proceed with us. We proudly serve clients throughout California with offices in Torrance, Newport Beach, Orange, Woodland Hills, and Pasadena.

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