Under the law of some community property states, married persons may agree to convert some or all of their separate property to community property. Such an agreement may be referred to as an agreement to convert separate property to community property or as a transmutation agreement.

The legal character or nature of debts of married persons may also be changed by transmutation in some community property states—changing debts of the parties’ separate estates to debts of the community estate, or debts of the community estate to debts of the separate estates. But an agreement between married persons to change a community debt to the debt of one of the spouses separate estates may not be binding on the creditor—unless the creditor agrees in writing to only look to one spouse for satisfaction of the debt.

In community property states, the laws regarding the availability and scope of transmutation agreements vary from state to state. These laws are usually located in a state’s statutes—often in the family code or domestic relations code.

Connecticut is not a community property state; it is an equitable distribution state. This means that during a divorce, marital property is not automatically split 50/50 but is divided in a manner that the court deems fair and equitable, which may not necessarily be equal. In community property states, spouses may enter into transmutation agreements to convert separate property into community property or vice versa, and they may also attempt to change the nature of debts from separate to community or the other way around. However, since Connecticut does not follow community property laws, the concept of transmutation agreements as they pertain to community property is not applicable. Instead, any agreement between spouses to change the ownership or nature of property or debts would be subject to Connecticut's equitable distribution laws and would need to be addressed within the framework of a marital settlement agreement or by court order during divorce proceedings.