Marital property is defined by most states’ laws as meaning property, either real or personal, that is acquired by the husband and wife at any time during the existence of the marriage relationship. Simple enough, right?
All property acquired subsequent to the marriage, and before the date of valuation, is presumed to be marital property – regardless of whether title to the property is held individualy or in the name of both spouses. Ok, what does that mean?
Basically, the courts have to have a date by which they stop – once and for all – the marital estate. For example, in some states, the date of valuation of the marital estate is made upon one of the spouse’s filing for divorce with the court. In other states, the valuation date may not be until the first pretrial hearing or conference, which could be months after the initial divorce filing. Finally, in many states, the judge will have discretion to choose a different valuation date if he thinks one of the parties has committed fraud or that there is some other reason to change the valuation date.
This is where things get complicated for divorce lawyers. There are also things called “presumptions” and other legal terms which can change they nature of the marital property. For instance, inheritances made to one of the spouses individually may not be marital assets which are divisible in a divorce. It all depends, and you need to talk with a good Minnesota divorce lawyer in your state for further information on what a marital asset or debt is.
Definition of Non-Marital Property
For example, non-marital property means property, either real or personal, which is acquired by either spouse before, during, or after the marriage is commenced, and that is:
- Property that was received as a gift, bequest, devise or inheritance made by a third party (like a parent or uncle) to one but not both of the spouses;
- Property that was acuired before the marriage;
- Property that was acquired by a spouse after the valuation date;
- Property that is excluded by a valid Prenuptial Agreement;
- Property acquired in exchange for, or is the increase in value of, property that is described above in number 1-4.
The list above is not all inclusive and the law may change in your state. Again, check with a licensed family law lawyer in your area.
Definition of Marital Property
In a phrase: marital property is all property that is acquired during the marriage, before the valuation date, and which is not non-marital property. If you have read this post in its entirety, that phrase should make sense to you.
Marital property can be real or personal property. An example of real property is a house. An example of personal property is jewelry.
Marital property can include such assets as homestead property, lake cabins, investments, stock and bonds, corporations, sole proprieterships, securities, life insurance, automobiles, retirement plans, and all household goods and furnishings.
All of the assets listed above are divisible in a divorce. Of course, there are other types of property that are more difficult to categorize, but it is important to realize that most property obtained during the marriage is divisible – even pets.
For my next post, I will try and get into the valuation of marital property. The valuation of marital property is one of the large issues that spouses and their lawyers often fight about in a divorce proceeding. As you can imagine, there can be a vast difference at times in what any two people think an item of property is worth. For example, have you ever had an appraisers of your home give you different values for its worth? Which one do you use? Who is correct? The answer, is it depends, and you need a good family law lawyer who can persuasively argue in your favor.
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