Chapter 5.15 HUSBAND AND WIFE RIGHTS AND LIABILITIES

Chapter 5.15
HUSBAND AND WIFE RIGHTS AND LIABILITIES – PROPERTY

Sections:

5.15.030 Community property defined – Management and control.

5.15.040 Disposition of property and liabilities – Factors.

5.15.010 Separate property of husband.

Property and pecuniary rights owned by the husband before marriage and that were acquired by him afterwards by gift, bequest, devise or descent, with the rents, issues and profits thereof, shall not be subject to the debts or contracts of his wife, and he may manage, lease, sell, convey, encumber or devise by will such property without the wife joining in such management, alienation or encumbrance, as fully and to the same effect as though he were unmarried. Any property held in trust by the United States government for the benefit of the party, whether acquired before or during the marriage, shall be the separate property of that party. [Res. 2011-020; Res. 2006-63; GC vote 7/9/1985. Prior code § 8.1.3.010.]

5.15.020 Separate property of wife.

Property and pecuniary rights owned by the wife before marriage and that were acquired by her afterwards by gift, bequest, devise, or descent, with the rents, issues and profits thereof, shall not be subject to the debts or contracts of her husband, and she may manage, lease, sell, convey, encumber or devise by will such property without the husband joining in such management, alienation or encumbrance, as fully and to the same effect as though she were unmarried. Any property held in trust by the United States government for the benefit of the party, whether acquired before or during the marriage, shall be the separate property of that party. [Res. 2016-17; Res. 2011-020; Res. 2006-63; GC vote 7/9/1985. Prior code § 8.1.3.020.]

5.15.030 Community property defined – Management and control.

Property not acquired or owned as prescribed in CTC 5.15.010 or 5.15.020, acquired after marriage by either husband or wife or both, is community property. Either spouse, acting alone, may manage and control community property, with a like power of disposition as the acting spouse has over his or her separate property except:

A. Neither spouse shall devise or bequeath by will more than one-half of the community property.

B. Neither spouse shall give community property without the express or implied consent of the other.

C. Neither spouse shall sell, convey, or encumber the community real property without the other spouse joining in the execution of the deed or other instrument by which the real property is sold, conveyed, or encumbered and such deed or other instrument must be acknowledged by both spouses.

D. Neither spouse shall purchase or contract to purchase community real property without the other spouse joining in the transaction of purchase or in the execution of the contract to purchase.

E. Neither spouse shall create a security interest other than a purchase money security interest as defined in the Uniform Commercial Code, 9-107, or sell community household goods, furnishings, or appliances unless the other spouse joins in executing the security agreement or bill of sale.

F. Neither spouse shall acquire, purchase, sell, convey, or encumber the assets, including real estate or the good will of a business where both spouses participate in its management without the consent of the other; provided, that only one spouse may, in the ordinary course of such business, acquire, purchase, sell, convey or encumber the assets, including real estate, or the good will of the business without the consent of the nonparticipating spouse. [Res. 2016-17; Res. 2011-020; Res. 2006-63; GC vote 7/9/1985. Prior code § 8.1.3.030.]

5.15.040 Disposition of property and liabilities – Factors.

In a proceeding for dissolution of the marriage, legal separation, declaration of invalidity, or in a proceeding for disposition of property following dissolution of the marriage by a court which lacked personal jurisdiction over the absent spouse or lacked jurisdiction to dispose of the property, the Court shall, without regard to marital misconduct, make such disposition of the property and the liabilities of the parties, either community or separate, as shall appear just and equitable after considering all relevant factors including, but not limited to:

A. The nature and extent of the community property;

B. The nature and extent of the separate property;

C. The duration of the marriage; and

D. The economic circumstances of each spouse at the time the division of property is to become effective, including the desirability of awarding the family home or the right to live therein for reasonable periods to a spouse having custody of any children. [Res. 2011-020; Res. 2006-63; GC vote 7/9/1985. Prior code § 8.1.3.040.]