In Arizona, California, Idaho, Louisiana, Nevada, New Mexico, Texas, Washington and Wisconsin, all property of a married person is classified as either community property, owned equally by both spouses, or the separate property of one spouse. At divorce, community property is generally divided equally between the spouses, while each spouse keeps his or her separate property. All debts incurred during marriage, unless the creditor was specifically looking to the separate property of one spouse for payment, are community property debts. A business owned by one spouse before the marriage remains his or her separate property during the marriage, although a portion of it may be considered community property if the business increased in value during the marriage or both spouses worked at it. Property purchased with a combination of separate and community funds is part community and part separate property, so long as a spouse is able to show that some separate funds were used.
Separate property mixed together with community property generally becomes community property.
If children are involved, the parent who spends the most time with the kids, or provides their primary care, usually remains in the marital home with them. If you don't have children and the house is the separate property of just one spouse, that spouse has the legal right to ask the other to leave. If, however, you don't have children and you own the house together, this question gets tricky. Neither of you has a legal right to kick the other out. You can request that the other person leave, but he or she doesn't have to.