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Estate, Gift And Income Tax Aspects Of Virginia's Transplanted Community Property - A Primer, J. Rodney Johnson

Law Faculty Publications

Almost a quarter of a century has now passed since the Virginia Supreme Court officially recognized the existence of transplanted community property in this state in the landmark case of Commonwealth v. Terjen, 197 Va. 596, 90 S.E. 2d 801 (1956). In this case, involving a California couple who sold their community-property owned residence in California and brought the proceeds along with them when moved to Virginia, the court held: "A change of domicile from a state where the community property law prevails to a common-law state does not affect the community property character of property previously acquired." Thus community …