Q: My husband is bring charged with theft/burglary charges. There is restitution of $148,000 which he has to pay 1/3 of. We

A: Unfortunately, the answer is likely yes if the property is not your primary residence (more on that later). If your husband had recorded a quit claim deed and subsequently divorced you prior to engaging in criminal activity then you would have a solid argument that your property was your separate property and that you held no liability for your husband's restitution. As the two of you are still married, his debts are your debts and a quit claim deed is unlikely to shield the property from recovery efforts.

The argument for seizing or placing a lien on the property would be that the crime was committed with the intent to benefit the community. Even if you had no knowledge of the criminal intent, you stood to benefit if your husband had committed the crime and kept the proceeds without apprehension. Because the community would have benefited, the community will likely be held liable for restitution. Cadwell v. Cadwell, 616 P.2d 920 (Ariz. App. 1980).

Arizona is a community property state and it is often difficult to establish that an asset is separate property (meaning it belongs solely to one of the married persons and the other spouse has no interest). Most assets that enter a marriage become "commingled" at some point during the marriage and end up being community property. Here it appears that the property was undeniably community property prior to the quit claim deed. Merely removing your husband's name from the deed will not effect a change in the nature of the property as community property.

All that being said, if the property in question IS your primary residence (you and your husband can only claim one; you do not each get to claim a separate primary residence) your best protection is found in Arizona Revised Statutes 33-1101 et. seq. Up to $150,000 of value of the marital home is protected.

I hope that is helpful.