Community Property Division Calculator
List what you and your spouse own and owe, mark what is separate property, and see each spouse's equal share and the payment that evens it out.
California divides the community estate equally (Family Code 2550): everything acquired during the marriage, minus community debts, is split 50/50. Separate property (owned before marriage, or a gift or inheritance) stays with its owner, and traceable separate money put into a community asset is reimbursed first (Family Code 2640). If one spouse keeps more than half, they pay the other an equalization payment.
Community Property Division Calculator
Equalization Payment
A home bought before the marriage (Moore/Marsden)
When one spouse bought a home before marriage and community money later paid down the mortgage, the home stays separate property but the community earns a share. Courts use the formula from In re Marriage of Moore (1980) and In re Marriage of Marsden (1982): the community gets back the principal it paid, plus that same percentage of the purchase price applied to the home's appreciation during the marriage.
How the division works
- Classify each item. Property acquired during the marriage is community (Family Code 760); property owned before marriage, gifts and inheritances are separate (Family Code 770). Property bought during marriage in joint names is presumed community unless the deed or a written agreement says otherwise (Family Code 2581). Earnings after the date of separation are separate (Family Code 771).
- Value community assets and debts, usually as close to trial as practical.
- Reimburse traceable separate-property contributions to community assets, without interest (Family Code 2640).
- Split the rest equally (Family Code 2550). The court can award an asset to one spouse and order an equalizing payment (Family Code 2601).
- Debts incurred during the marriage are divided too; separate debts, including those not incurred for the community, go to the spouse who incurred them (Family Code 2622, 2625).
Retirement accounts often need a court order (a QDRO) to split, and their community share depends on how much was earned during the marriage. Tax costs of selling or cashing out an asset aren't counted here.
Frequently Asked Questions
How is community property divided in a California divorce?
Equally. Family Code 2550 requires the court to divide the community estate, meaning all community assets minus community debts, 50/50 unless the spouses agree otherwise in writing or in court. The court can give an asset to one spouse and order a payment to the other to even things out.
What counts as community property in California?
Almost everything either spouse acquired during the marriage while living in California, including wages, retirement savings earned during the marriage, and property bought with those earnings, no matter whose name is on it (Family Code 760). Earnings after the date of separation are separate property.
What is separate property in California?
Property owned before the marriage, gifts and inheritances received by one spouse during the marriage, and the rents and profits from them (Family Code 770). Separate property is confirmed to its owner and is not divided, as long as it can be traced.
What is a Family Code 2640 reimbursement?
If you used traceable separate property toward a community asset, such as a down payment or principal payments, you get that amount back off the top before the rest is split. There is no interest or adjustment for inflation, and it can't exceed the property's net value. A written waiver ends the right.
Who pays community debts in a divorce?
Community debts are divided equally along with the assets. If community debts are larger than community assets, the court can assign the excess based on each spouse's ability to pay (Family Code 2622). Separate debts stay with the spouse who incurred them.
What happens to a house one spouse owned before marriage?
It stays that spouse's separate property, but if community money paid down the mortgage, the community earns a share of the equity under the Moore/Marsden formula: the community principal paid, plus the same percentage of the price applied to appreciation during the marriage.
This calculator illustrates California's equal-division rules and is not legal advice. Characterizing property, tracing separate funds and valuing assets can be contested, and spouses can agree to a different split in writing. Sources: Family Code 760, 770, 771, 2550, 2581, 2601, 2622, 2625 and 2640; In re Marriage of Moore (1980) 28 Cal.3d 366; In re Marriage of Marsden (1982) 130 Cal.App.3d 426.