California Divorce Law...

Professional degrees, in and of themselves, are not community property in California.

However, a spouse's efforts in putting another spouse through graduate school is one factor a court will consider in awarding spousal support.

Also, if tuition and books were paid out of community property, and the marriage had a duration of less than ten years, the community may be entitled to reimbursement, with interest (which effectively means that the other spouse gets back half the cost, plus interest).

However, if the marriage is more than ten years' duration, the community usually does not need to be reimbursed. The theory is that the community already received the value of the education through several years of earnings.

However, if a party can show that the community did not benefit by the education, then the community may still be reimbursed.

Or, if both parties obtained fairly equal educations, perhaps the community also is not entitled to reimbursement for either one's education.

Or, if the party who received the education earns less than the other, and the education reduces that party's need for support, again the community probably will not be entitled to reimbursement.

Student loans from before marriage are not community property, but are the separate obligation of the student.

Section 2641.

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