Legal Question in Family Law in California

1. It depends on the source of the funds in the account. Whose name the account is in is irrelevant to whether the funds are community property. Only funds that were deposited before marriage, or separate property received during the marriage, such as inheritances or large gifts, AND not mingled with funds earned during the marriage are separate property. Mingled funds and funds earned during the marriage are community property even if held in a sole account.

2. Same answer as #1. It depends on the source of the funds used to acquire the investments. However unlike bank accounts, separate property put into investments that also have community property funds put into them can be separated out if the records are good enough. In that case the separate property portion goes to the spouse whose separate property funds went into the asset, and then the community property portion is split. There are also some special rules regarding real estate as to what the effect of community property contributions will be. For example, if you own a separate property house and get married and continue paying the mortgage out of current earnings, the community obtains an interest in the property, but not an ownership interest. Only a reimbursement interest for the portion of the mortgage payments that went to principle. However, if you build on an addition it gets more complicated.

3. A "prenup" is short for a pre-nuptial agreement. They can cover anything the engaged couple wants to cover regarding premarital and marriage finances. Most commonly they identify and agree on what separate assets each person has and acknowledges their separate property character, and they include agreements that specify how finances will be handled during the marriage and in the event of divorce, most commonly to agree on terms that are different from or clarify the rules under the Family Code. For example you could agree that all income earned during the marriage by each spouse remains separate property, not community property (though that may not hold up if there is a great disparity in income), or have terms governing spousal support that would differ from the Family Code in the event of divorce. Exactly what goes into a prenup depends on the specific financial circumstances and wishes of the couple. I do recommend them for couples who come to a marriage with meaningful assets, or both are high earners.

4. Both spouses are free to move money as they wish during the marriage. However, a) moving it does nothing to change the character and division of the assets; community property remains community property no matter where you put it, and b) if you do it to try to hide assets and get caught you risk being charged monetary sanctions, orders that you pay the attorney's fees and forensic accounting costs incurred by your spouse in uncovering the assets, and possibly even the entire asset being awarded to your spouse for trying to defraud the court. The same goes for income. You are entitled to all legitimate expenses, tax deductions and write-offs to reach your net income, but if you get caught fudging the numbers the court will make sure it backfires in a big way.