The first thing to understand about assets during a divorce is that they can generally be classified as separate assets or marital assets. Often, the main qualification is when those assets were acquired, earned or obtained.
For instance, someone may have purchased a car in college before getting married. If they then get divorced, the car is likely a separate asset that they brought to the marriage. But if a couple gets married and then buys the car together, it is a marital asset and they both have a right to it. This will have to be addressed during property division, potentially by allowing one spouse to keep the car and giving the other spouse different marital assets with a similar value.
Mixing assets together
But even when an asset starts as separate property, it doesn’t necessarily stay that way. If it is mixed or commingled, it can then become a marital asset.
For instance, say that someone acquires a substantial amount of money prior to marriage. Maybe they receive an inheritance or maybe they get a large settlement in a personal injury lawsuit. They have $200,000 when they get married. Initially, it’s a separate asset.
But if they put that $200,000 into a joint bank account, this mixes it with other funds that their new spouse has access to. That can turn the money into a marital asset that now has to be divided. This can also happen if the money is used to pay shared expenses or purchase jointly owned items, such as buying a family home.
Dividing assets can get complicated, especially when they’ve been mixed and couples disagree on their status. During this process, those involved must know exactly what legal options they have.
