What happens to your money when you get married?

Marriage carries certain legal implications with respect to property, money, and debt. Becoming legally married in the eyes of your state means your spouse’s income (and debt) are now yours, as well. If one of you runs up a huge credit card bill, you both now are on the hook when the bill comes.

When you get married does your spouse’s debt become yours?

Debts you and your spouse incurred before marriage remain your own individual obligations—but you’ll share responsibility for debts you take on together after the wedding.

How can I protect my money when I get married?

Here is the list of ways you can protect (at least some of) your money and assets without a prenup.

1. Keep your own funds separate.
2. Keep your own real estate separate.
3. Use non–marital funds to maintain non-marital property.
4. Keep bank statements for retirement accounts issued at the date of marriage.

What do you do with your bank account when you get married?

Keep the process simple if you and your spouse already have accounts at the same bank. You’ll both have to show up with valid ID. Then you can close one spouse’s accounts completely, transfer their money to the other spouse’s accounts, and add their name. Or you can open new ones with both spouses as account holders.

Can I be responsible for my husband’s debt?

You are generally not responsible for your spouse’s credit card debt unless you are a co-signor for the card or it is a joint account. However, state laws vary and divorce or the death of your spouse could also impact your liability for this debt.

Do You Keep your bank accounts separate when you get married?

Neither of us were walking into this marriage with major assets. We just figured we’d keep our separate bank accounts, for a while, and figure out how to split bills and financially plan together, while keeping some things separate. In New York, where we plan to get married, the money you make becomes marital.

What happens to your mortgage when you get married?

During marriage, marital earnings (earnings acquired during the marriage) or marital savings paid down the principal on the mortgage. One of you files for divorce and, during marriage, you and your spouse paid down the mortgage by $100,000, which means the mortgage owed on the house is now $400,000.

Should you explore your financial protection options before getting married?

He questioned why I had this fear and then began to understand the positives of exploring our financial protection options before getting married. For starters, it allowed us to go into the marriage with a clear plan of action for how we’d combine our finances and what we’d keep separate.

What should I do with my assets when I get married?

“You want to make sure that what you have acquired (prior to the marriage) stays separate. Every state is different on what this means. What I would recommend is keeping those assets in your name only.