It also means that each spouse is responsible for taking on one-half of all debt, including debts that he or she didn't know about. Rarely does each and every piece of community property get split down the middle or each debt get split 50-50. The Court is required to make an equitable or fair division of the property and debts. Usually, the value of all the property is added up as are all the debts. The debts are subtracted from the assets, and whatever is left over gets divided.
Separate property continues to belong to the person who owned it.
Separate property is essentially any property you owned before the marriage, received as a gift specifically to you during the marriage, and property you inherited during the marriage. The proceeds from separate property also remain separate. For example, if you inherited a house from your parents while you were married and rented it out, then the rent proceeds remain separate. Similarly, debts you owed before marriage continue to be separate debts. Problems arise when separate property or debts get commingled or mixed up with community debts, such as when you owned a home before marriage that both of you live in now and use your salaries to pay the mortgage and taxes after marriage.