There are nine community property states. They are Arizona, California, Idaho, Louisiana, Nevada, New Mexico, Texas, Washington and Wisconsin. In these jurisdictions, property brought to the marriage stays with the party who acquired it. Some jurisdictions exclude property that comes to the marriage by gift or inheritances.

Alaska permits couples to elect community property status for divorce purposes.

Some states allow for equitable distribution when justice is served. Legal consul should be consulted because the rules on distribution vary from state to state and have many exceptions.

Community property and its distribution in a divorce is at sharp variance from a common law property distribution.

See also Kitchen Sink States, Dual Classification.