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§ 695.020.Community Property

Title 9. Enforcement of Judgments · Division 2 · Chapter 1. General Provisions · Article 1. Property Subject to Enforcement of Money Judgment · Last amended 1994 · Last verified July 28, 2026

In one sentenceSection 695.020 subjects community property to enforcement of a money judgment as governed by the Family Code, and extends this division's provisions covering a judgment debtor's own property and obligations to the community property interest of, and community obligations owed to, the debtor's spouse.

Full Text of § 695.020

Text sizeJump to: (a) (b)

(a) Community property is subject to enforcement of a money judgment as provided in the Family Code.
(b) Unless the provision or context otherwise requires, if community property that is subject to enforcement of a money judgment is sought to be applied to the satisfaction of a money judgment:
(1) Any provision of this division that applies to the property of the judgment debtor or to obligations owed to the judgment debtor also applies to the community property interest of the spouse of the judgment debtor and to obligations owed to the other spouse that are community property.
(2) Any provision of this division that applies to property in the possession or under the control of the judgment debtor also applies to community property in the possession or under the control of the spouse of the judgment debtor.

Plain-English Summary

Community property gets folded into judgment enforcement through a cross-reference rather than its own detailed rules -- subdivision (a) says community property is subject to enforcement of a money judgment as provided in the Family Code, leaving the substantive community-property rules to that code.

Subdivisions (b)(1) and (b)(2) do the real procedural work here. They extend every provision of this division that applies to a judgment debtor's property, or to obligations owed to the debtor, so that it also reaches the community property interest of the debtor's spouse and community obligations owed to that spouse. The same extension applies to provisions governing property in the debtor's possession or control -- those provisions also reach community property in the spouse's possession or control.

In practice, that means a creditor enforcing against one spouse doesn't need a separate set of rules to reach community assets that happen to sit with, or be owed to, the other spouse. The enforcement provisions built around the judgment debtor carry over to the community share of the non-debtor spouse, unless the provision or context requires otherwise.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does California's judgment enforcement law have its own rules for community property?

Not in detail. Section 695.020(a) subjects community property to enforcement as provided in the Family Code.

Can a creditor reach community property held by the debtor's spouse?

Generally yes. Section 695.020(b) extends the division's enforcement provisions to the community property interest of, and community obligations owed to, the judgment debtor's spouse.

Does this apply to property physically held by the non-debtor spouse?

Yes. Section 695.020(b)(2) extends provisions covering property in the judgment debtor's possession or control to community property in the spouse's possession or control.

Amendment History

Amended by Stats. 1992, Ch. 163, Sec. 33. Effective January 1, 1993. Operative January 1, 1994, by Sec. 161 of Ch. 163.

Source & verification. Section text is reproduced verbatim from the Deering's California Codes Annotated / vLex. Enacted by the California Legislature. Last verified July 28, 2026. · Official source
Also known as: community property judgment enforcement californiacan creditor take spouse's community property california