California has been a community property state since 1850, and still we struggle to understand which spouse is liable for debts. So here, broad brush, is a guide to the legal liability of spouses, ex spouses, registered domestic partners and their community property for debt. Because, as I’ve written, the community is a third “party” […]
Get A Voodoo Discharge Without Filing Bankruptcy
One of the great mysteries of debtor/creditor law is the community property discharge in bankruptcy. When only one spouse files bankruptcy in a community property state like California, the non filing spouse reaps bunches of benefits that creditors can’t imagine. Benefits that aren’t explicitly described in books about bankruptcy or understood by creditors. Those benefits […]
Separate Finances Doesn’t Protect Spouse From Financial Disaster
By keeping separate finances, this California couple thought they had insulated the wife from the financial woes of her entrepreneur husband. They didn’t share bank accounts nor credit cards while she carefully kept her distance from his business dealings. Her name was not on anything tied to his business. But “separate” isn’t enough to overcome […]
Are You Liable For Your Spouse’s Debts In California?
“Everyone knows” that California’s community property law makes you liable for spouse’s debts. Only, “everyone” is wrong. Or, more accurately, they’re only half right. Community property is liable for everything In California, the community property is liable for the debts of either spouse. In fact, the community property is liable for the debts that either […]
California Community Property Creates A Marital Threesome
Sounds kinky, doesn’t it? Three players in a marriage. Sharing. Everything. Only this is something you can talk about openly, without blushing: community property. Community property is the default property arrangement in California for a married couple. Yet it is poorly understood by those affected by it and it isn’t inevitable. How community property […]
Why Even Rock Solid Marriages Need A Prenuptial Agreement
Pre nuptial agreements aren’t just for the rich or mid-life marriages. In California, pre nuptial agreements do far more than provide a blueprint for division of property at divorce. A prenup can earn its keep for decades in marriages where divorce never enters the picture. Why? It protects the assets of the marriage from outsiders. […]
