I’ve heard that California is a community property state. What is “community property?”

Community property means that all property that the spouses acquire while married belongs to the marriage partnership and is jointly owned. The community property concept centers on the idea that, in theory, both spouses contribute equally to the creation and operation of the family unit. Typical exceptions to the community property principle include inherited property and property received as a gift. In these cases, it is presumed that the spouse who inherited property—or received it as a gift—owns that property as “separate property” (and it is not subject to division).