Adam and I had a conversation about weddings and marriage and the like last night and it got me thinking about Wisconsin's screwed up community property laws again. One of the main reservations I have about getting married is because of these laws. I saw how they screwed my mom big time during her divorce and I have no intention of getting myself into that same boat. Not that I expect that to happen, mind you. You never know though.
I was just doing some research and it looks like a prenuptial agreement trumps the community property laws. This makes me feel a little better about the whole thing. There are only 8 states that have these stupid community property laws and Wisconsin has the most messed up version of them. Washington is one of the other seven. Evan & Jodi, I was wondering if you've come in contact with anything about the laws out there and what you think of the whole thing...
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Well, of course, we've not gotten divorced or anything, so it's not affected us.
Strangely enough, since North Carolina isn't a community property state in the lists I've seen *AND* I bought the house there as an individual (I'm the only one on the deed) in 2001 - 2 years before Jodi and I were married - she's still been required to cosign on all of the sale contracts. So, from that perspective, it's not saved us a bit of work/effort, even for not being a community property state.
The whole point of community property state is not to screw you over though! It's to keep someone else from screwing you over. In Wisconsin, for instance, they have to do new credit-line notifications. So if your husband (or wife) is "planning to divorce you and wants to get back at you", it's pretty difficult for him/her to sneakily open and charge up a bunch of new credit cards in your "shared credit" and stick you with the 1/2 the bills. This is routinely done in other states where there is no such notification!
Prenups are great and all, but J and I don't have one. We got together at a time in our lives where neither of us brought tremendously more financially into the relationship than the other. And assets gained during the union are generally considered marital property and are not subject to prenup terms (ignoring things like inheritance). Plus, trust is a huge part of a significant relationship like marriage. I know that I won't try to financially ruin Jodi if things ever didn't work out, and I trust she has the same view. :)
So, I guess my question for you is what is it about Wisconsin's marital property laws that worries you?
When it comes to money, I trust no one.
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