California is a community property state.  California defines community property as all property, both real and personal, which a married person living in the state acquires during the marriage.  This includes property  that is located outside the state as well as within the state.  With the exception of separate property, no matter how property is titled, and in the case of income, no matter who earned it.  If it is acquired during the marriage it is considered part of the marital community estate.  Upon dissolution of the marriage, community property is divided equally between the parties.  However, an absolute equal division of each asset is not possible or even practical in many cases.  For example, to achieve an equal division of every asset would require sale of each asset and division of the proceeds.  For many families, forcing sale of the family residence at the time of the dissolution can cause disruption to the family, and result in even more inequity than awarding the residence to one spouse while awarding another asset of equal value to the other spouse.  As a result, valuation and distribution of  martial properties often becomes one of the major points of dispute between parties.