Chapter 12 Flashcards
1
Q
Three protections for the family:
A
(i) the community property form of ownership of property between spouses;
(ii) the opportunity for a surviving spouse to take an “elective share” if the decedent did not leave the spouse a sufficient share of the marital property or if such a share would be preferable to the result in intestacy; and
(iii) the protection against accidental disinheritance when the decedent executed a will before marriage or omitted a child.
2
Q
Community Property
A
- property accumulated by either spouse from earnings or other work during the marriage
- unless the spouses agree otherwise, all property acquired during the marriage is jointly owned in a manner similar to tenancies in common (but which exists exclusively between spouses)
- with community property, title is irrelevant in determining actual ownership and control of the property
- each spouse owns an equal, undivided share in each item of property
3
Q
property that was acquired before the marriage, or that either spouse receives as a gift or an inheritance during the marriage is considered:
A
separate property and remains under the ownership and control of that individual spouse
