The problem with keeping property before marriage your separate property is that separate property can become marital property in several ways. If a court finds that your separate property has become marital property, your premarital assets are not protected.

How do you keep assets separate in a marriage?

A separate account should be kept in the name of the spouse or in the name of a trust for a spouse, not as a joint account. Deposit dividends and interest from a separate investment account into a separate checking account. Consider carefully whose name goes on the deed of a house.

Who is responsible for a spouse’s debt after marriage?

In common law states, debt taken on after marriage is usually treated as being separate and belonging only to the spouse that incurred them. The exception is those debts that are in the spouse’s name only, but benefit both partners.

What happens if my spouse has a judgment against him?

If you have a steady income and your spouse doesn’t, creditors can use a judgment to garnish your paycheck. The other states apply a common-law standard to marital finances.

Can a judgment on a spouse’s assets be garnished?

Therefore, judgment creditors cannot access funds your spouse earned or owned prior to your marriage, so long as: (1) the assets are heled in a separate account in your spouse’s name only, and (2) you (or your spouse) do not comingle, or mix/combine these assets with community or your own, separate property.

Can a spouse be on the hook for a debt?

This depends on state law, which varies wildly across the country. If you live in one of the nine community property states, the law says everything either spouse earns during marriage belongs to both of you equally. The same applies to debts: if your spouse runs up a $5,000 debt, you’re on the hook as much as she is.