[vecinu]

> You’re entitled to keep a larger portion of it (as you get a credit for it).

Doesn't this depend on if you have a pre-nup especially in states like CA? I got married super early and had to divide everything equally even though I earned much more than my spouse.

[schrodinger]

Not in NY, an “equitable distribution” state. Our mediator informed us that my wife was entitled to maybe 10% of my ipo stock since she didn’t sacrifice or contribute to it (I had a normal salary). Sounds like ny is an exceptionally fair state!

[vecinu]

Wow...that does sound quite exceptional. My wife got 50% of all my RSUs and all other equity I earned throughout my career. Nothing I could do about it since it was earned during our marriage and that's the law in CA.

[astura]

California is a Community Property state, New York is not.

The rules in Community Property states is marital assets have to be divided equally (50/50) in non-Community Property states they must only be divided up "equitably."

[PopAlongKid]

Most states with historical ties to Spanish civil law are community property, and a few oddballs too. IRS (U.S. federal tax agency) Publication 555 explains a lot of the basics of community and separate property, including how taxation works in case of divorce. (It is not specifically about divorce, however).

As you can see this represents a large percent of the total U.S. population.

Arizona. California. Idaho. Louisiana. Nevada. New Mexico. Texas. Washington Wisconsin

Also, "The states of Tennessee and South Dakota have passed elective Community Property Laws."

[dahdum]

I believe if you earned during the marriage that’s marital property unless otherwise agreed in a prenup (maybe some states are weird but I think that’s the norm). The scenario is more like owning the house you live in before the marriage, then using marital proceeds for stuff like maintenance and taxes. The increase in value since the marriage might be considered shared, because you both contributed towards it.