Separate property is a statutory list — putting it in a joint account can still mix it.
Civil Code separate property typically covers pre-marital property, compensation for personal injury, items of daily use, and gifts or inheritances determined to be for one spouse only. A valid prenup or marital-property agreement can expand or reallocate. Using separate cash as a down payment on a marital home, or injecting it into a company, creates tracing fights — see the real-estate and shares related pages. ‘Kept in my parents’ name’ is a fact pattern, not a magic shield. This page does not decide percentages on a specific apartment.
4 questions before you choose the route.
This page identifies the right question and evidence. It does not determine the legal outcome on a reader’s facts.
Is it on the statutory list?
Pre-marital, personal gift, injury comp.
ListWas it mixed?
Joint account, mortgage, equity.
MixIs there a written agreement?
Prenup or mid-marriage.
DealWho has the paper trail?
Bank and deed history.
ProofWorking rule: Map the regulated role before marketing or launch in China.
The signal ledger.
These facts move the question beyond a label and into a product, money-flow and control analysis.
Bring a compact evidence docket—not a pitch deck.
Give a compliance team or counsel the operating facts that reveal the perimeter.
Questions people ask before they build.
Short answers for orientation. The right result can change with the service model and current rules.
Is inheritance during marriage separate?
If left to one spouse alone, generally yes. If left to both, or mixed, the answer changes.
Can we convert separate into community?
Yes, by agreement or by mixing in ways the court treats as transmutation-like facts.
Primary authorities
Reviewed sources support orientation, not a fact-specific assessment.