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Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary of Law. Merriam-Webster. 1996.
- separate property
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In community property states, property owned and controlled entirely by one spouse in a marriage. At divorce, separate property is not divided under the state's property division laws, but is kept by the spouse who owns it. Separate property includes all property that a spouse obtained before marriage, through inheritance, or as a gift. It also includes any property that is traceable to separate property — for example, cash from the sale of a vintage car owned by one spouse before marriage — and any property that the spouses agree is separate property. (See also: community property, equitable distribution)Category: Bankruptcy, Foreclosure & Debt → BankruptcyCategory: Bankruptcy, Foreclosure & Debt → Debt & Collection AgenciesCategory: Divorce & Family Law → Divorce, Child Support & CustodyCategory: Divorce & Family Law → Lesbian & Gay CouplesCategory: Wills, Trusts & Estates → Estate TaxCategory: Wills, Trusts & Estates → Estates, Executors & Probate CourtCategory: Wills, Trusts & Estates → Living Trusts & Avoiding ProbateCategory: Wills, Trusts & Estates → Wills
Nolo’s Plain-English Law Dictionary. Gerald N. Hill, Kathleen Thompson Hill. 2009.
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n.in community property states (California, Texas, Arizona, Idaho, Louisiana, New Mexico, Nevada and Washington), the property owned by one spouse which he/she acquired: a) before marriage, b) by inheritance, c) as a gift, d) assets traceable to other separate property such as money received from sale of a house owned before marriage, and e) property the spouses agree is separate property. State laws vary, but basically separate property can be controlled by the spouse owning it. The laws of descent applied to separate property and right to give separate property by will differ from the treatment of community property. Example: a child may inherit part of one spouse's separate property if there is no will, while community property would pass automatically to the spouse. Upon divorce community property is divided equally, while separate property is kept by the owner without division with the other spouse.See also: community property
Law dictionary. EdwART. 2013.