How to protect your money when marrying someone who's in legal or financial trouble

Consider exchanging recent credit reports with your partner.

"This will help you see firsthand whether he or she has a history of financial irresponsibility that might have led to the current troubles or whether it's the result of aberrational behavior," Frawley said.

This consultation should not only cover financial issues, but possible custodial issues as well.

"During the same consultation, you should also ask in what ways a prenuptial agreement can protect you — or not — in the event of a divorce," Frawley said. "As soon as you know you intend to marry, you should become educated about what can be achieved by having a prenuptial agreement.

"If you decide you will only marry if a prenuptial agreement is executed by you and your partner, then you should find out right away whether your partner will agree to sign one with terms protecting you from his or her troubles."

Frawley said that beyond looking for a lawyer specializing in matrimonial and family law, it's important to find one who works in the area where you live or where you intend to live when you're first married.

"It's not uncommon for trust and estate practitioners to draft prenuptial agreements, but you would be better served by consulting with an attorney who regularly drafts them as well as litigates divorces, because he or she will have experience with how legal and/or financial trouble can play out in a divorce," Frawley said.

Laws also vary state by state.

"If your spouse gets sued and a judgment is issued against them, any joint assets such as your primary residence could be in danger," Glen B. Levine, cofounder and senior partner at the Law Offices of Anidjar & Levine, told Business Insider. "But this all will depend on whether your state is community property, tenancy by the entireties, or a common law state."

"Depending on the state, the lien could attach to the entire property, only your spouse's interest in the property, or not at all."