[Read this glossary entry on atharkhan.com](https://atharkhan.com/glossary/tortfeasor/) A **tortfeasor** is a person or entity that commits a [[Tort|tort]], a civil wrong for which the law provides a remedy. The term concerns civil responsibility. It does not mean that someone has been convicted of a crime, and an allegation alone does not establish liability. ## In California Family Law A spouse can be a tortfeasor, but marriage alone does not make the other spouse personally responsible. [Family Code section 1000(a)](https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=FAM&sectionNum=1000.) generally leaves a spouse free of personal liability for the other's wrongful conduct unless there is an independent basis for liability. **Personal liability and exposure of marital property are different questions.** Under section 1000(b), the order in which community and the responsible spouse's separate property satisfy an injury liability depends on whether the activity benefited the community. Subdivision (c) addresses insurance proceeds and limits reimbursement claims. It is therefore inaccurate to say that either all community property is protected or the innocent spouse automatically becomes a tortfeasor. Liability also requires proof of the particular claim. For example, the Judicial Council's [CACI No. 400](https://www.justia.com/trials-litigation/docs/caci/400/400/) requires proof of negligence, harm and the necessary causal connection. Calling someone a tortfeasor does not supply that proof. **Example:** One spouse allegedly causes a car collision through careless driving. Whether that spouse is liable depends on the negligence evidence. Whether community property may satisfy the resulting liability is a separate issue under section 1000, not proof that the other spouse caused the collision.