FAM § 2550

Equal division of community estate – FAM § 2550

Family Code § 2550 requires equal division of community estate in dissolution or separation, except by written agreement or oral stipulation in court.

Official text FAM § 2550 — California

Except upon the written agreement of the parties, or on oral stipulation of the parties in open court, or as otherwise provided in this division, in a proceeding for dissolution of marriage or for legal separation of the parties, the court shall, either in its judgment of dissolution of the marriage, in its judgment of legal separation of the parties, or at a later time if it expressly reserves jurisdiction to make such a property division, divide the community estate of the parties equally.

Text as published in the 2026 snapshot of the code.

Source: Vaquill Open US Law, compiled from official state publishers (huggingface.co), reproduced under license CC BY 4.0.

Read this provision at the official source →

What it actually says

Section 2550 is the rule that makes California divorce different from most of the United States. Except on the written agreement of the parties, or an oral stipulation in open court, or as otherwise provided in the division, in a proceeding for dissolution of marriage or legal separation the court shall divide the community estate of the parties equally — in the judgment, or at a later time if it expressly reserves jurisdiction to make the division.

"Equally" means equally in value, not item by item. The court is not obliged to halve every asset; it divides the estate so that each side receives half of the net value, which is what allows one spouse to keep the house and the other to receive an offsetting share of other assets or an equalising payment. It also means the court is not conducting a fairness review: who behaved badly, who worked harder, who wanted the divorce and who paid for what are not, under this section, reasons to depart from equality.

The exceptions are written into the opening words. The parties may agree otherwise in writing or by oral stipulation in open court, which is what a settlement or a marital agreement does. And other provisions of the division allow specific departures — for a deliberately misappropriated asset, for certain debts, for education loans, and where an asset is of insignificant value. Everything therefore turns on the two questions this section assumes have been answered: what is community property, under §§ 760, 770 and 771, and what is it worth. Both are contested far more often than the equal-division rule itself, and both need a family lawyer.

When it applies

Neither of you will move out of the family home and both names are on the title
One spouse wants to keep the house and buy the other out
A business built during the marriage that only one of you runs
A settlement proposal that is not an equal split
A pension or retirement account that has to be divided
You want to know whether behaviour during the marriage affects the split

What this section does not say

It does not mean every asset is cut in half. The requirement is equal division of the community estate in value, which allows offsetting awards and equalising payments.
It does not touch separate property. Only the community estate is divided; separate property under §§ 770 and 771 is not part of the exercise.
It is not a fairness assessment. Conduct during the marriage is not a reason under this section to depart from equality.
It does not apply where the parties agree otherwise. A written agreement or an oral stipulation in open court displaces the equal division requirement.
It is not support. Spousal and child support are governed by separate provisions and are not part of dividing the community estate.

Worked examples

Invented situations, written to show how the wording bites. They are not real cases, not judgments and not precedent, and nothing here predicts what would happen in yours.

Illustrative example

A separating couple own a home in both names. Neither will move out and neither will agree to buy the other out.

How the wording applies

Section 2550 requires the community estate to be divided equally in value, which does not mean each asset is split down the middle, since offsetting awards and equalising payments are how it is usually done. It turns on values and liquidity rather than on conduct, because behaviour during the marriage is not a ground under this section to depart from equality.

How the parties settled it

One spouse takes the home at a value set by a jointly instructed appraiser and refinances the loan by an agreed date, with an equalising payment to the other out of the proceeds of a second asset.

Illustrative example

A business started and grown during the marriage is run day to day by one spouse, who says the other contributed nothing to it.

How the wording applies

The business is part of the community estate if acquired during the marriage under section 760, and the equal division requirement applies to its value. What the answer turns on is valuation rather than effort: the spouse who runs it usually keeps it and pays the other an equalising share, and the section does not allow a discount because only one of them did the work.

How the parties settled it

The business is valued by a jointly instructed valuer, and the operating spouse keeps it and pays the equalising figure over an agreed instalment period secured on the business assets.

How courts have read it

Decisions construing this provision. The question and the summary are ours; the quoted sentence is the court's own words, taken from the published opinion. These are the decisions in our corpus, not every decision there is, and nothing here predicts any other case. Reported 1991 to 2017.

Woolsey v. Woolsey, 220 Cal. App. 4th 881 (2013)

Court of Appeal

What the court had to decide

Does Family Code section 2550 require notarization or advisement of the right to seek legal counsel for a written agreement dividing community property?

What it held

No, section 2550 does not require notarization or advisement to seek legal counsel; a local rule imposing such additional requirements is invalid.

In the court's words

Section 2550 does not require notarization or advisement to seek legal counsel when allowing a written agreement to divide property.

Source: Caselaw Access Project, CC0 1.0 Universal (public domain dedication).

Related sections

FAM § 760 Property acquired during marriage is community (FAM § 760) FAM § 770 Inheritance is separate property under FAM § 770 FAM § 771 California Family Code § 771 - Earnings after separation are separate property FAM § 1101 3 years to sue for breach of fiduciary duty – FAM § 1101

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We copy this text from the official publisher and re-check it against that source on every page load, but we cannot guarantee it is complete, current or free of error, and we accept no liability for any reliance on it. An amendment can take effect before a consolidation catches up. The publisher's own copy is linked below; where the two differ, it is the official one that counts.

This page reproduces the text of FAM § 2550 in force at the date shown and explains it in general terms. It is not legal advice and takes no account of the circumstances of your case, which can change the answer completely. For a live dispute, for limitation periods, and before taking any step in court, consult a qualified lawyer in California.

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