In American, only some states are communal property states...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Community_property

How propety held prior to the marriage is viewed at the time of divorce or death can be different in each state and sometimes is different in courtrooms in each state as well.... Sometimes community property laws and inheritance laws can be conflicting as well...




>>>>>>>>It surprised me too, but I can't say I do not know anyone that did not sign a pre-nup, even one of my best friends from high school did it.
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>>>>>>>Speaking only for myself, I'd never sign a prenup whether if favoured me or not. I guess I'm a bit old fashioned, but I just can't see myself saying to a woman, "I love you. I want to spend my life with you. Please sign this because I'm not sure I really trust you." And anyone who implied the same to me would see me walking away - quick.
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>>>>>>I don't have a pre-nup. I was married young and it made no sense for us. Where I see it making the most sense is for people farther along in life who had already have children and family assets and so forth. Then, a pre-nup protects the interests of those (possibly adult) children in the assets of the family to which they were born.
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>>>>>>A pre-nup doesn't have to be only about divorce; it can about distribution of assets at death, as well.
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>>>>>>Tamar
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>>>>>I thought that's what wills are for. You mean a prenup that divides up assets among non existing descendents? Sounds a little to weird for me.
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>>>>Marriage confers certain property rights by default. AIUI, a pre-nup can make it clear that the default situation is not the case for this marriage.
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>>>>Tamar
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>>>Of course, but that usually applies to the spouses. I suppose there could be terms in the prenup that define how property will be divided on their deaths, but I doubt this is common. Prenups, afaic, presuppose marriage breakup and normally describe how property will be divided on that event. And I still say that people who insist on contracts that presuppose divorce prior to their willingness to marry, should not be getting married at all.
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>>Well, the situation I was thinking of was where one or both have property that came from an earlier marriage and a pre-nup makes it clear that that property is not becoming community property in a new marriage. That would then apply to both divorce and death.
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>>Tamar
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>Once again, anybody who needs a contract to say that shouldn't be getting married. Does it matter where the property came from?