Nine states -- Arizona, California, Idaho, Louisiana, Nevada, New Mexico, Texas, Washington, and Wisconsin -- use the community property system to determine the interest of a husband and wife in property acquired during marriage. If you now live or previously lived in one of these states, you should be aware that some special rules apply to community property. Any property you may have acquired while living in one of these nine states is probably community property even today.
The accounting firm of Deloitte & Touche has a website, mostly informing you about taxation, located at Deloitte & Touche and their discussion of community property, which is located at Community Property is excellent.
If you used to live in one of these nine states, or are contemplating moving to one of these nine states, the community property laws could affect you substantially, both by way of taxation, should one of the parties to a marriage die, and in the divorce area, should the parties divorce. Be aware of this issue, and make your attorney aware of this issue. Most non-community-property states' lawyers don't even think to ask about this issue, and the issue could become significant.
Here are some potential issues:
1. We used to live in California, but now live in Michigan, and are getting divorced. He owns a Corvette (or, she owns a diamond). Do I still have an interest in that personal property, even though the property is now in Michigan?
2. We used to live in California, but now live in Michigan, and are getting divorced. We still own a house in California, on three acres, which we rent out. How will California's community property laws affect my Michigan divorce?
These answers are NOT provided here because the answers may change, depending on one little circumstance out of twenty or so possible circumstances. You need to discuss this with your lawyer, and let your lawyer get all of the facts, to make a determination in your particular case.
Good luck with it.