community property

American  

noun

U.S. Law.

1. (in some states) property acquired by either spouse, or both together, that is considered by law to be jointly owned and equally shared.

---

Etymology

Origin of community property

First recorded in 1920–25

---

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

community property

Until now, filing a joint petition was permitted only in limited circumstances, including when the couple had been married for fewer than five years and where their community property assets were worth less than $25,000.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 1, 2026

“However, community property can be changed to a tenancy in common via divorce proceedings to allow each co-owner the ability to transfer their shares to heirs.”

From MarketWatch ● Dec. 6, 2025

How an estate is divided among heirs depends on whether the assets are community property with the deceased’s spouse, the nature of the title deeds and the beneficiary designations, among other issues.

From MarketWatch ● Dec. 6, 2025

All these awards are community property no matter how people talk about it.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 15, 2025

“She’ll claim it’s community property, divvy it out to her minions, and there goes our emergency supply.”

From "Dry" by Neal Shusterman and Jarrod Shusterman

Random Word

Spin the wheel and learn a new word!

---