In a community property state, the law treats a married couple much like business partners — participants who own an undivided one-half interest in the “community.”
Which states are community property states?
As of 2025, there are nine community property states: Arizona, California, Idaho, Louisiana, Nevada, New Mexico, Texas, Washington, and Wisconsin. Alaska and Florida are ‘opt-in’ community property states that give both parties who are residents of those states the option to make their property community property. Two states, Alaska and Tennessee, allow non-residents to establish a community property trust with a trustee in their state.
What is ‘community property’?
In a community property state, the law treats a married couple much like business partners — participants who own an undivided one-half interest in the “community.” As a general rule, community property is a presumption which classifies all property acquired during the marriage by either party to the marriage while they are residing in a community property state. This includes property of any kind, real estate, business interests such as an LLC membership or stock in a closely held company, wages, retirement accounts, insurance policies, stocks, bonds, mutual funds, and bank accounts. There are exceptions, and an estate planning attorney will help you to understand those.” One easy exception to explain is inherited property that is kept separate during the marriage.
Do community property laws apply even if I name a different beneficiary in a will or insurance policy?
A member of the community. It’s best to work with an experienced estate planning attorney who understands the nature of your property when naming beneficiaries.
If my partner and I are not married, are our assets still considered community property?
Oregon, Washington and Idaho have substantially different standards regarding the treatment of non-marital committed relationships. These differing standards can have drastic effects on how a court distributes property following the death of a partner and the breakdown of the relationship. Understanding these differences is critical when it comes to estate planning for couples who are either engaged in committed non-marital relationships, who are commingling their assets, who are changing domiciles — or all three.
An unmarried couple who is planning to live together should carefully work with an experienced estate planning attorney and sign documents that address how they want to manage the relationship on death and disability. These include:
A cohabitation agreement that defines their relationship in the way they desire, a Will, an Advance Directive and/or Health Care Power of Attorney, a Legal Power of Attorney, and in some instances, a Revocable Trust or trusts.