Is a wife’s property liable to clear off her husband’s debts?

Full question:

My father gifted me some landed property before my marriage. After marriage, my husband brought a land next to it. We kept the both properties together and there is no separation. My husband is asking the whole property to clear off his debts. Am I liable to give him the whole property?

• Category: Marriage
• Subcategory: Marital Property
• Date: 04/07/2025
• State: Vermont

Answer:

No, you need not give him the whole property. He can make a partition of the land and use his part to clear off his debts. In Vermont, all personal property acquired by you before or during coverture, except by gift from your husband, is your separate property. Your separate property shall not be subject to the disposal of your husband or liable for his debts. It is covered in 15 V.S.A. § 66 which reads:
 

“   All personal property and rights of action acquired by a woman before or during coverture, except by gift from her husband, shall be held to her sole and separate use. Neither a wife's separate property nor the rents, issues, income and products of the same shall be subject to the disposal of her husband or liable for his debts. Nothing herein contained shall authorize a claim by either husband or wife against the other for personal services.”