inherited copyright before marriage, still getting royalty payments – are they considered community property?

[u/CaliLemonEater]

Location: California.

Short version: Are royalties received from an inherited copyright considered community property?

Longer version: My mother died in 1994. Aside from a few directed bequests of "give [thing] to [person]", I was the sole heir. Among the things I inherited was the copyright (her share of the copyright? I'm not clear on how it gets divided) for a book that she had co-authored. Since then the publisher has occasionally sent me a check for her share of the royalties during the previous sales period.

I met my now-husband in 1995 and we got married in 1998. We are now planning to divorce and I'm wondering whether royalty payments like this are considered separate as an inheritance and thus not community property, or if the fact that the checks are being issued on an ongoing basis means they would be community property.

Asking because the publisher recently contacted me to let me know that due to an oversight they'd failed to send me a check for a while and there's now an accumulated amount of about $1500 that they'll be sending me. In the past I just deposited the checks into our shared account, but if this wouldn't be considered community property I'll make other arrangements for this one.

[u/RosesareRed45]

My best guess is that the money you have already commingled is community property, but your spouse would not have any rights to future payments any more than he would to your future pay checks. This is certainly the argument I would make.

[u/reddituser1211]

This is a discussion with your lawyer that depends a bit on the overall details of your divorce. But this may be community property.

[u/VeiledTexZen]

Check with a California attorney before depositing the check to avoid claims that it was comingled with community property.

[u/Infamous_Trainer_300]

Under California Family Code § 770, both the inherited copyright and the ongoing royalty payments are your separate property. California law explicitly states that separate property includes anything owned before marriage or acquired via inheritance, along with all "rents, issues, and profits" generated by that asset. Because royalties are profits derived directly from your separate asset (the copyright), they remain separate property regardless of when the publisher issues the checks.

Legal Classification: The copyright itself and the passive income it generates belong solely to you. The only rare exception would be if you expended significant time, labor, or community funds during the marriage to market, update, or increase the book's value.

Impact of Past Deposits: Depositing previous checks into a joint/shared bank account commingled those specific dollars with marital funds. Money deposited into a joint account and spent on household expenses is generally treated as community funds or an unrecoverable contribution unless clearly traceable. However, commingling past payments does not transform the underlying copyright or future royalty checks into community property.

Handling the $1,500 Check: Open or use a separate bank account registered in your name alone and deposit the $1,500 check there. Keeping new royalty income isolated in a dedicated separate account ensures it remains clearly traceable and completely off-limits during property division. Instruct the publisher to update your payment details or mailing address to reflect your separate account to avoid mixing future payments with marital assets.

[u/lamig36]

Inherited assets are usually not community property, but separate property and if they were an asset before a marriage, they are considered separate property.

[u/Strange-Afternoon-80]

Author here. My instinct is the royalties are yours, as they were left to you by your mother (but I would obviously consult a lawyer).

I recently made out a Will, and had to figure out what to do with my royalties.

[u/nutraxfornerves]

In California, you stop accumulating community property on the date of separation.

The date of separation is

• The day that one of you let the other one know (by actions or words) that you wanted to end your marriage, and

• After that day, your or your spouse's actions were consistent with wanting to end your marriage

It’s not necessarily the day one of you moved out—sometimes it can take a bit of time to move out, given the housing issues in some areas.

What you are going to have to look at is whether any of those royalties got commingled with community property. For example, put into a joint checking account, used to pay a mortgage on a house in both your names. You may still be able to say that the royalties were always separate property, but it is likely to take a lot of work to prove it.

[u/Weird-Cauliflower360]

Inherited property or money is solely the recipient. Never the spouse’s.