In the nine community property states within the U.S., everything purchased or acquired during your marriage belongs equally to both you and your spouse. This includes your wages and income from all sources, except inheritances or gifts made specifically to just one of you. With only a few exceptions, creditors can garnish your wages for a debt incurred by your spouse. Community property states include Louisiana, Idaho, California, Arizona, Wisconsin, Washington, Texas, New Mexico and Nevada.
Federal Taxes
If you don't pay the Internal Revenue Service, the IRS will eventually get around to garnishing your wages. The IRS calls this a levy. If you live in a community property state and your spouse files a separate tax return, then fails to pay her taxes despite repeated warnings, the IRS can levy your wages as well as hers. You do have some protection, however. The IRS can garnish your spouse's income on an ongoing basis with one levy, but it can only garnish your wages as a one-time event. Each time it garnishes your pay, it must issue a new levy. You also have the right to file a claim for exemption with the IRS. If the IRS has garnished your wages to pay your spouse's liability, speak with an attorney knowledgeable in tax law before the government places a second levy against your next paycheck.
Premarital and Post-Marital Debt
Even in community property states, you generally have no liability for debts your spouse incurred before you got married. Community debt is everything contracted for from the date of your marriage until the date of your divorce or the date of your spouse's death. A creditor can't go after your wages if your spouse signed for the debt before you married him. Once you're divorced or your spouse dies, your wages are no longer community property. If your spouse pays child support, it usually qualifies as a separate premarital debt and can't be taken from your paycheck.
Marital Debt
If your spouse contracted for debt on her own after you got married, even if the debt is in her name separately, it's your debt as well under community property law. The creditor can garnish your income for satisfaction of the debt if she doesn't pay it.
Tips
You can override community property laws by agreement between you and your spouse. If you want to keep your debts separate, you can enter into a prenuptial agreement. You can also create the same kind of document after you're married, called a post-nuptial agreement. If a creditor garnishes your wages for your spouse's debt, provide it with a copy of your agreement. The creditor must stop the garnishment. For added protection, include a clause in every contract either of you sign that incurs debt, stating that only the spouse signing for the loan is responsible for paying it back.
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