“A debt is an obligation, whether based on contract, tort or otherwise, becomes viable at the time a contract is made, is typically money that is owed, and can also be called a liability.
Community estate debts/liabilities are debts incurred after date of marriage but before date of separation, can be paid with community or quasi-community property, include debts incurred after the date of marriage but before separation that have benefited the community estate, include contracts entered into while the parties are married.
Separate debts/liabilities are debts that were incurred by a spouse before the marriage or after separation, are debts that were not incurred for the benefit of the community, include child support or spousal support obligations from previous relationships or marriages, are debts incurred after entry of a judgment but before termination of the parties’ marital status, are educational loans and liabilities of the spouse whose act or omission provided the basis for the liability, and include debts/liabilities incurred by either spouse for non-necessaries of that spouse or children of the marriage for whom support may be ordered.
Court has discretion to assign assets/debts to either or both parties after characterizing the debts as separate or community, if community debts exceed community and quasi-community assets, including joint California income tax liabilities, if incurred after separation but before entry of a judgment, include debts incurred by a person’s spouse during marriage if the debt was incurred for the necessaries of life of the person’s spouse while the spouses were living together, include debts incurred after the date of separation but before the entry of a judgment for the common necessaries of life of either spouse or the children of the marriage for whom support may be ordered, and the court has continuing jurisdiction to award community estate assets or community estate liabilities to the parties that have not been previously adjudicated by a judgment.”
[LW Greenberg, California Family Law]
