community property

community property

Property held jointly by a husband and wife. In states having a community property system, property acquired by either spouse during the marriage may be deemed to belong to each spouse as an undivided one-half interest. Some property (e.g., gifts to one spouse) may be classified as separate, but in lawsuits over the classification of property the presumption is in favour of the community category. Some jurisdictions extend community property laws to same-sex unions.