One of the rewarding parts of our practice is educating clients on the nuances of the law. Often times, potential clients walk into our office with preconceived notions about the law and how it applies to them. The following are statements we regularly hear from our clients. Can you tell which ones are true and which are myths? You may be surprised.

If you live with someone for 7 years, you have a “common law” marriage

Not true. There is no such thing as common law marriage in the state of California: you are either married or you are not. So, any assets you bring into your cohabitating relationship are yours and yours alone.

What this means is that if you were to pass away, the person you have been cohabitating with is considered a stranger under CA laws and will not be able to inherit from you. As a result, a surviving partner could be thrown out of their home by the decedent’s relatives, if the survivor was not on title. To properly protect you and your partner, it is essential to have an estate plan in place that outlines what each survivor can inherit from their partner.

After you’re married and receive an inheritance, your spouse gets half of it

Wrong again. California is a community property state, which means that any assets earned while you’re married are considered joint assets of the couple, even if one spouse didn’t necessarily earn it. However, any inheritance or gifts you receive during your marriage is your separate property and don’t have to be split during a divorce. But, you must keep the property insulated to continue its separate character. This means, you shouldn’t commingle your inheritance by depositing it into a joint bank account or purchasing real estate with your spouse’s name on the title.

An essential part of estate planning is properly characterizing your property as community or separate. In its absence, the rule of thumb is that your spouse will get all the community property while separate property will go half to the surviving spouse, and half to your heirs. This type of distribution can be changed with a well-written estate plan that properly delineates who gets what after your passing.

If you need help determining how to properly characterize your property and assuring the right assets get to your chosen beneficiaries, give us a call. We’d love to help you.

Glendale Location

616 E. Glenoaks Boulevard, Suite 203

Glendale, CA 91207

Sherman Oaks Location

15303 Ventura Boulevard, Suite 900

Sherman Oaks, CA 91403