California Family Code § 911: Protecting Spousal Earnings from Pre-Marriage Debts

Plain-Language Summary

Under California’s community property rules, most debts of a married person can usually be paid out of the couple’s shared (community) property. Family Code § 911 creates a narrow exception to that rule. In simple terms, if one spouse earned wages or other income during the marriage, that income cannot be used to pay off a debt the *other* spouse incurred *before* the marriage – but only if certain conditions are met. Specifically, after you receive your paycheck or other earnings, you must deposit that money into a separate bank account in which your spouse has no withdrawal rights and must keep it separate from any joint or community funds. As long as the funds stay in that separate account and are not commingled with community property (aside from negligible amounts), they are protected from creditors trying to reach a spouse’s pre-marriage debts.

In practical terms, “earnings” under § 911 means the pay, salary, or other compensation you receive for services as an employee or self-employed person. The code refers to a “deposit account” by cross-reference to commercial law (essentially an ordinary bank or savings account). Section 911’s protection only applies to debts incurred before marriage by the other spouse; it does not shield earnings from debts incurred by either spouse during the marriage. Also, if the protected spouse uses those earnings to buy a home, car, or other community assets, that purchased property generally can be reached by creditors, because once the money is spent on community property it loses the special protection of § 911.

Put another way: imagine a wife had a large student loan from before marriage. After marrying, she works and earns a salary. If she deposits her paychecks into a bank account held only in her name (with no right of withdrawal by her husband), her salary income is not liable for her husband’s old student loan debt. But if her husband had signature power on the account or if she mixed that money with joint funds (for example, transferring it into a joint checking account), the protection is lost and creditors could reach that money.

Real-World Examples

Separate Paycheck Account: A married person opens a personal savings account in only their name and deposits each paycheck there. The other spouse has no access to that account (cannot withdraw money). Under § 911, those deposited earnings cannot be used to pay the other spouse’s pre-marriage debt. This means if the non-debtor spouse later cashes those funds out (and as long as they were never commingled), creditors have no claim to that money for a debt the other spouse had before marriage.
Joint Account Beware: Suppose instead that the paychecks were deposited into a joint bank account. Even if that account was intended to be separate, co-ownership or withdrawal rights by the other spouse would cause § 911’s protection to fail. In that case, the earnings become part of community property and could be reached by the creditor of the pre-marriage debt.
Buying a House with Earnings: A spouse keeps wages in a protected account under § 911, but later uses those earnings to buy a house held as community property. At that point, the new house can be used to satisfy the other spouse’s old debt because the protected earnings have been converted into community asset. So § 911 only protects the funds while they are still in the separate account.
Debt After Marriage vs. Before: Consider a spouse who was later sued for an incident during the marriage (e.g., a car accident). That debt is treated as incurred during marriage (see Fam. Code § 903(b)), so § 911 does not apply. In that scenario, community property (including earnings in the community) would normally be liable for the debt under the general rule.
Income vs. Other Property: Section 911 only mentions “earnings” (pay or wages). Other types of income (like rental income, passive investment earnings, or gifts) are not covered by this shield. For example, inheritance or gift money is usually already considered separate property by other rules, but passive investment income (interest, dividends) would not automatically be protected by § 911 and could be reachable for a spouse’s prior debt.
Tax Debts: If one spouse had tax bills from before marriage, § 911 can help protect the other spouse’s wages. For example, if the husband had old taxes and the wife keeps her salary in her own separate account, the IRS (or other creditor) cannot levy her separate wages for his old tax debt. But again, if she used that money on joint property or let him access the account, the protection would end.

Published Case Law on § 911

Sturm v. Moyer (Cal. Ct. App., 2d Dist. 2019) – In this reported case, the Court of Appeal explained the scope of § 911. The court noted that normally community earnings are liable for either spouse’s premarital debts under Fam. Code § 910, but § 911 carves out an exception for the non-debtor spouse’s wages if kept separate. The opinion quotes § 911(a) verbatim, emphasizing that the non-debtor spouse’s “earnings and income” are “shielded from liability for [the debtor-spouse’s] premarital debt to the extent that those earnings and income are held in an account to which the debtor-spouse does not have access and are not commingled”. Sturm ultimately addressed a related issue (fraudulent transfers in a premarital agreement), but it reaffirmed that § 911 requires the earnings to be kept in a separate deposit account in which the other spouse has no withdrawal rights. (See also Waldholm v. Dwyer (2019) 32 Cal.App.5th 299 [243 Cal.Rptr.3d 556], recognizing that contractual agreements cannot evade § 911’s protection.)

Full Text of California Family Code § 911

911. (a) The earnings of a married person during marriage are not liable for a debt incurred by the person’s spouse before marriage. After the earnings of the married person are paid, they remain not liable so long as they are held in a deposit account in which the person’s spouse has no right of withdrawal and are uncommingled with other property in the community estate, except property insignificant in amount.

(b) As used in this section:
(1) “Deposit account” has the meaning prescribed in paragraph (29) of subdivision (a) of Section 9102 of the Commercial Code.
(2) “Earnings” means compensation for personal services performed, whether as an employee or otherwise.

(Amended by Stats. 1999, Ch. 991, Sec. 42.5. Effective January 1, 2000, Operative July 1, 2001, by Sec. 75 of Ch. 991.)

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