What Happens to My Debt If I Get Married in Wisconsin?

Marriage is a legal contract that can affect many areas of your financial life. Depending on the state in which you live, the effects on your property and debt can be dramatically different if you get married. The two systems in use in the United States are community property and common law or marital property. Wisconsin is a community property state.

Community Property

Only nine states use the property system known as "community property," including Wisconsin. Essentially, community property considers all assets a couple owns to be equally and jointly owned by each of them. For purposes of the community property law, debt is a type of "property" that generally is split between a married couple. However, the community property law only applies to assets a couple obtains after they become married. In other words, anything that you bring into a marriage in Wisconsin, be it debt or property, remains yours even when you get married. If you incur debt or acquire property after the marriage, the community property provisions apply and both individuals are equally entitled to or liable for those assets and debts.

Marital Property

For the most part, America operates on the basis of common law, or "marital property," not community property. Although Wisconsin is a community property state, if you move to another state at some point, you may be susceptible to marital property provisions, rather than the community property laws with which you are familiar. In a marital property state, you own whatever has your name on it, even if you acquire an asset or debt when you are married. For example, if you get married and buy a boat in your single name, you own that boat, and your spouse does not. However, if you get divorced in a marital property state, the court generally divides all your property in a "fair and equitable manner," typically with the higher earning spouse receiving two-thirds of all property.

Debt and Marriage

In a community property state such as Wisconsin, you are responsible for whatever debt you bring into a marriage. However, when you are married, you as a couple are generally jointly responsible for any new debt you incur. For example, if you get married and buy a house in Wisconsin, both you and your spouse are generally responsible for the mortgage, even if only your name appears on the loan documents.

Assets and Debt in Wisconsin

One of the dangers of a state with community property laws, such as Wisconsin, is that the assets of the marriage estate are fair game for debts that one spouse incurs individually. For example, if you secretly amass $10,000 in debt after you get married in Wisconsin, your creditors may pursue the property that your spouse brings into the marriage to pay those debts if you default. This is true even if your spouse had no knowledge of or direct responsibility for the debt you incurred.