n
All property acquired during
marriage, regardless of how titled, that will be divided between the spouses in
the event of a divorce.
marital property
noun
- Items that were given as gifts to one party
- Items that the two partners formally agree in writing is the property of only one person
- A small number of states consider all marital property to be "community property."
- The rest of the states treat marital property as simply jointly owned property that must be split in an equitable manner.
- Each partner equally owns each asset or piece of property that is not separate property.
- The split is handled on a dollar-for-dollar basis
- The partners can divide the total assets by trading their share of one asset for the partner’s share of another
- Large assets, such as a house, can be sold and the money obtained split equally between the two
- The split does not fall into an equal split but is instead more or less than 50% to each party
- The court takes into account many things in determining the split of property including the length of the marriage, the earning power of each party, custody of any children in the marriage and the future earning power of each party.
Marital property is defined as the money and the things that were acquired during a marriage except for:
Division of Marital Property
During a divorce proceeding, one of the court's tasks is to divide the marital property between the two parties. Two situations may occur depending on the state of residence:
Community Property vs Non Community Property States
Community property states deal with the allocation of property in the divorce in a strictly mathematical way:
Within the states that do not treat marriage property as community property, it is up to the court to divide the property equitably between the two parties. In general:
An example of marital property is a house a couple bought after their wedding.
YourDictionary definition and usage example. Copyright © 2018 by LoveToKnow Corp
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"marital property." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 16 January 2019. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/marital-property>.
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marital property. (n.d.). Retrieved January 16th, 2019, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/marital-property
marital property - Legal Definition
Webster's New World Law Dictionary Copyright © 2010 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Link to this page
Cite this page
MLA Style
"marital property." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 16 January 2019. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/marital-property>.
APA Style
marital property. (n.d.). Retrieved January 16th, 2019, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/marital-property
