Coming into marriage with debt.

[childrenRpeople]

What is the name of your state? CA

Hello,
My fiance has a large defaulted student loan. Needless to say, it has ruined credit.
My credit is good and I am a homeowner.
I believe (and may be wrong) that I am not responsible for his student loan debt when we marry. I believe it is different than consumer (for example, credit card) debt.
One of the default letters says that if there is ever property ownership, they can put a lien on the property.
Here are my questions:

1) When we marry, will my property automatically become half of his and be subject to a possible lien?
2) What do we need to do to keep our credit seperate?
3) What can we do legally to protect my individual assets in marriage?
4) Is CA a commonlaw state? If we were to live together as husband and wife without state-sanctioned marriage, would we encounter the same challenges as if we were married?

Thank you for your time, usable info and responses.

[Ohiogal]

Originally Posted by childrenRpeople

What is the name of your state? CA

Hello,
My fiance has a large defaulted student loan. Needless to say, it has ruined credit.
My credit is good and I am a homeowner.
I believe (and may be wrong) that I am not responsible for his student loan debt when we marry. I believe it is different than consumer (for example, credit card) debt.
One of the default letters says that if there is ever property ownership, they can put a lien on the property.
Here are my questions:

1) When we marry, will my property automatically become half of his and be subject to a possible lien?
2) What do we need to do to keep our credit seperate?
3) What can we do legally to protect my individual assets in marriage?
4) Is CA a commonlaw state? If we were to live together as husband and wife without state-sanctioned marriage, would we encounter the same challenges as if we were married?

Thank you for your time, usable info and responses.

Talk to an attorney about getting a pre-nup written to deal with these issues.

[childrenRpeople]

I hear you...a prenup. I know that a prenup protects individual assets from being divided among each other in case of a divorce.
Would a prenup protect individual assets from being claimed in collections if you are married?...that is the million dollar question. Again this is a defaulted student loan, not consumer debt and the asset of concern is a home purchased before marriage and not in the defaulter's name.
Any ideas?

[childrenRpeople]

I know that a prenup protects individual assets from being divided among each other in case of a divorce.
Would a prenup protect individual assets from being claimed in collections if you are married?...that is the million dollar question. Again this is a defaulted student loan, not consumer debt and the asset of concern is a home purchased before marriage and not in the defaulter's name.
Any ideas?