Legal Question in Credit and Debt Law in California

Debts from before your marriage are separate property and will not be chargeable to your new wife. Debts after the marriage could well be considered community property debts.

Mr. Marman is mostly right. The trouble is that community assets can be reached to pay the separate property debt in many cases. If you bring a lot of debt to a marriage and she is debt free or relatively so, do a good pre-nup and stick to it to give her the most protection possible.