Q: Does putting my house I bought prior to t relationship in living trust prior to marriage protect it in case of divorce

A: California is a community property state, which means that all property acquired during the marriage (except by gift or inheritance) is considered jointly owed by both you and your spouse. Conversely, the general rule is that property that is acquired prior to the date of marriage, or after the date of separation, is considered separate property and is not shared amongst the community. It is important to note that these are general rules and that they have exceptions. For example, commingling of separate property assets with community property assets can convert that separate property into community property. In addition, labor and improvements that increase the value to property that you acquired prior to the marriage can be classified as community property--e.g., you spend $30,000 to build an extra room for a house that you acquired prior to the marriage.

Putting your property (especially large assets like a house) into a living trust is always a great idea to ensure that it is passed on to your designated loved ones without the need for the lengthy, expensive, and public probate process that would otherwise happen after your death.

However, titling the property into a living trust would not be a requirement to ensure that it is separate property, so long as it would otherwise qualify as separate property under California law.

Based upon the facts that you presented, it would appear that your house would be classified as separate property, unless (as stated above) you spent community funds or made community efforts to improve upon it--i.e., spent time or money on the house during the marriage, and that time or money spent improved the value of the home. In that situation, your spouse would be entitled to half of the value of the improvement or expense (but not the whole property).