Do you live in a community property state?  If you do, you should understand the laws as they relate to separate property and community property.  By definition, community property is joint ownership, by husband and wife through marriage, of property obtained during that marriage. This property is then split between them both if there is a divorce or annulment. This property was purchased during the marriage with earned money by either spouse.

But, community property is not always owned by both spouses as some property can be separate and thus called “separate property.”
Any thing, including property, that is owned before a marriage falls into the separate property and if the marriage fails, each party keeps his or her previously owned property.

Gifts and inheritances are also seen as separate property and not subject to laws for that state. There are only nine states in the US with community property laws. They are: Arizona, California, Idaho, Louisiana, Nevada, New Mexico, Texas, Washington and Wisconsin.