Never married

[orphan97]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? California

But I want to be some day, and possibly soon. So I figured I better find out the specifics of just how things work. I heard that what's yours is theirs, but does that really include everything?

Like accounts only in your name, or the money that comes from them? I doubt it, but I just want to be sure. Then I suppose I would like to know if there is a fee for filing prenupt or whatever, and how things are divided if and when you can get a divorce, which I believe requires both parties to be in agreement (Kinda sucks).

 

[Proserpina]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? California

But I want to be some day, and possibly soon. So I figured I better find out the specifics of just how things work. I heard that what's yours is theirs, but does that really include everything?

Like accounts only in your name, or the money that comes from them? I doubt it, but I just want to be sure. Then I suppose I would like to know if there is a fee for filing prenupt or whatever, and how things are divided if and when you can get a divorce, which I believe requires both parties to be in agreement (Kinda sucks).

Generally, pre-marital property is considered just that - pre-marital, and owned by the owner. Of course if you "co mingle" things after marriage, it becomes fair game in the event of a divorce.

Divorce does not require both parties to be in agreement (in fact that kind of defines the thing, for the most part - one party no longer wishes to remain married). A pre nup? Worry less about filing fees and more about obtaining individual counsel (for BOTH parties) in order for it to be valid and/or enforceable.

How things are eventually divided depends on several factors.

 

[Sloop John D]

What you're asking about is referred to as community property. You can find a decent amount of general information about community property online. As Prosperina said, it's difficult to answer your question because there are a lot of factors involved in determining whether or not something is community property, but if you have a question about a specific piece of property, someone here may be able to give you an idea about whether or not it is community property or separate property and how it might be divided at divorce.