Simple English definitions for legal terms
Read a random definition: entencion
Quasi-community property is the stuff that married people own together when they live in a state that doesn't have community property laws. Community property states have special rules for dividing up property when people get divorced or when one of them dies, but quasi-community property is for when the property is in a different state. The property is split equally between the spouses, just like in community property states. In some states, like California and Washington, even if the property was bought before moving to the state, the quasi-community property rules still apply.
Quasi-community property refers to property that spouses acquired when they were not living in a community property state. Community property states include Arizona, California, Idaho, Louisiana, Nevada, New Mexico, Texas, Washington, and Wisconsin. Alaska allows spouses to choose whether to apply the community property approach or not.
When spouses acquire property outside of their state of domicile, quasi-community property rules may apply to regulate the property in probate or divorce. Like community property, quasi-community property is divided equally between spouses.
For example, in California, if spouses were not domiciled in California when they acquired property, but later moved to California and sought a change in marital status, the community property rule would apply to the property they acquired outside of California, even if it was acquired before they became subject to California's community property rules.
In Washington, if spouses acquired property while living outside of Washington and later divorced or one spouse passed away while living in Washington, the court would apply quasi-community property rules to determine how the property should be divided. If the property is personal property, it is defined as quasi-community property directly. If it is real estate, the law of the property's location determines whether quasi-community property rules apply. If the state where the property is located uses the law of the owner's domicile, quasi-community property rules will apply. If the state applies its own law and it is not a community property state, the rules will not apply.
Overall, quasi-community property is a legal concept that helps regulate property acquired by spouses outside of their state of domicile.