Marital Property

A couple joined together in marriage typically has a lot of possessions; those they came into the marriage with, and those that they acquired together with their spouse. Once the couple has chosen to seek a divorce and separate, those belongings must also now be separated. Property is divided up into two categories; marital or non-marital. The guidelines for determining which category possessions fall into is left to the discretion of the state. What is considered marital property in one state may be considered non-marital in another state, so each couple should learn their states specific rules when they are dividing their assets.

Typically items that are marital property were those that were acquired by the couple once they had joined in a marriage union. Examples of what a state may consider marital property are property (such as homes and real estate), income, investments, any debts from loans or unpaid bills, vehicles or even 401k accounts. The court will pool together all of the couples combined marital property in order to make a ruling.

In this case a husband's car would not be solely his possession if it was purchased during the marriage. It would be viewed as belong to both spouses and the value of it would be factored into the division of property. On the other hand items that were accrued prior to marriage are on average ruled to be non-marital property. The following are some examples of what may be counted as non-marital property depending on the state:

• Inheritance;
• Something given as a gift to one spouse;
• Property of the spouse accrued prior to the marriage;
• Property attained after a legal separation;
• Any possessions the judged ruled belonged exclusively to them; and
• Any property that was specifically left out by an agreement of both spouses

Once it has been determined which items count as marital property, they will then either be split up by the couple themselves, or a judge will make a ruling and divide the property either as community property or by equitable distribution contingent on the geographical location.

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