2005 California Family Code Sections 780-783 CHAPTER 3. DAMAGES FOR INJURIES TO MARRIED PERSON

FAMILY.CODE
SECTION 780-783

780.  Except as provided in Section 781 and subject to the rules of
allocation set forth in Section 2603, money and other property
received or to be received by a married person in satisfaction of a
judgment for damages for personal injuries, or pursuant to an
agreement for the settlement or compromise of a claim for such
damages, is community property if the cause of action for the damages
arose during the marriage.
781.  (a) Money or other property received or to be received by a
married person in satisfaction of a judgment for damages for personal
injuries, or pursuant to an agreement for the settlement or
compromise of a claim for those damages, is the separate property of
the injured person if the cause of action for the damages arose as
follows:
   (1) After the entry of a judgment of dissolution of a marriage or
legal separation of the parties.
   (2) While either spouse, if he or she is the injured person, is
living separate from the other spouse.
   (b) Notwithstanding subdivision (a), if the spouse of the injured
person has paid expenses by reason of the personal injuries from
separate property or from the community property, the spouse is
entitled to reimbursement of the separate property or the community
property for those expenses from the separate property received by
the injured person under subdivision (a).
   (c) Notwithstanding subdivision (a), if one spouse has a cause of
action against the other spouse which arose during the marriage of
the parties, money or property paid or to be paid by or on behalf of
a party to the party's spouse of that marriage in satisfaction of a
judgment for damages for personal injuries to that spouse, or
pursuant to an agreement for the settlement or compromise of a claim
for the damages, is the separate property of the injured spouse.
782.  (a) Where an injury to a married person is caused in whole or
in part by the negligent or wrongful act or omission of the person's
spouse, the community property may not be used to discharge the
liability of the tortfeasor spouse to the injured spouse or the
liability to make contribution to a joint tortfeasor until the
separate property of the tortfeasor spouse, not exempt from
enforcement of a money judgment, is exhausted.
   (b) This section does not prevent the use of community property to
discharge a liability referred to in subdivision (a) if the injured
spouse gives written consent thereto after the occurrence of the
injury.
   (c) This section does not affect the right to indemnity provided
by an insurance or other contract to discharge the tortfeasor spouse'
s liability, whether or not the consideration given for the contract
consisted of community property.
782.5.  In addition to any other remedy authorized by law, when a
spouse is convicted of attempting to murder the other spouse, as
punishable pursuant to subdivision (a) of Section 664 of the Penal
Code, the injured spouse shall be entitled to an award to the injured
spouse of 100 percent of the community property interest in the
retirement and pension benefits of the injured spouse.
783.  If a married person is injured by the negligent or wrongful
act or omission of a person other than the married person's spouse,
the fact that the negligent or wrongful act or omission of the spouse
of the injured person was a concurring cause of the injury is not a
defense in an action brought by the injured person to recover damages
for the injury except in cases where the concurring negligent or
wrongful act or omission would be a defense if the marriage did not
exist.


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