The United States has two different property division schemes in family law. There is community property, which is what we have in California. And there is equitable distribution, which is what´s used, for example, in New York state. In California, you would be able to keep what you brought into the marriage. That´s your seperate property. And anything that´s earned from the date of marriage onward and not received by gift or devise of somebody dies and you inherit it is community properly and would be split in half. Equitable distribution states deal with income and assets acquired during the marriage in a different way and the examination of how those assets came to be in a different way. So you should check and see what the state you are living in and getting divorced in, which property scheme they use and research that and perhaps talk to somebody that can give you more information about how those assets would be divided and whether you actually come out with what you came in with.