California Partition Law Blog
In California, spouses and registered domestic partners are afforded specific legal protections because of their status as a “spouse” or “registered partner.” A putative spouse is different from an actual marriage and a registered domestic partnership but exists to provide the same protections in specific circumstances. The Putative Spouse Doctrine protects Putative Spouses when their marriage or registered domestic partnerships turns out to be invalid. Understanding what a putative spouse is will help ensure your property and interests are protected in the unfortunate circumstance that your marriage or registered domestic partnership is invalid.
What Is a Putative Spouse?
A putative spouse is an individual who holds a good-faith belief that they are married to their spouse or are registered as domestic partners, when they are not in fact married or registered under California law. The Putative Spouse Doctrine codified in Family Code Section 2251 provides the good-faith spouse the ability to share in the benefits of property obtained during the relationship in a manner equivalent to that of community property. (Miller and Starr California Real Estate (4th Ed.) 4 Cal. Real Est. § 11:36.)