Interspousal gift

A gift that one spouse makes of their separate property to the marital community. The most common example is when one spouse bought a home prior to the marriage and the home is titled in that spouse’s name alone. But during the marriage, that spouse adds the other spouse’s name to the title. That act is considered an “interspousal gift,” i.e., the spouse gives the home to the community. The effect of that in a divorce is that the house will be divided equally unless the spouse can rebut, by clear and convincing evidence, that they intended to make a gift.