LAW264

This is a comparative law course that places California Community Property law in a national and global context. For each topic, students are introduced to an active, present-day similarity and difference between the California community property system and another marital property system. Systems used for comparison are the majority common law system, the other U.S. community property states, and (where relevant and as time allows) other countries that rely on community property law. Topics include property acquisition during marriage, property characterization at dissolution, fiduciary duties between spouses, marital options including registered domestic partnership and nonmarried cohabitancy, contracting between intimates before and during marriage, the intersection between domestic violence and community property law, and control of genetic and intangible materials. . The class is lecture-based and problem-centered; the problems incorporate a trial practice component. This course will go a long way toward preparing a student for a bar exam; however, the primary goal is to foster a deeper understanding of California's unique community property system relative to other marital property systems.