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Marital property is any property that was acquired during the marriage using marital funds in order to acquire it.
How something is titled doesn't determine whether it is marital property. If it is acquired, and paid for, during the marriage with marital funds, it is marital property. For example, if one spouse buys a car that is titled only in his or her name, but paid for it with marital funds, the car is still marital property because it was paid for during the marriage with marital funds.
Non-marital property is property that a spouse 1) owned before the marriage; 2) property that was acquired by gift or by inheritance from a third party during the marriage; or 3) property that was excluded by a valid agreement such as a prenuptial agreement or any property that is directly traceable to any non-marital property. For example, if a spouse had a bank account before the marriage, didn’t place any marital funds into that account, and then used money from that account to buy a car during the marriage, the car is still non-marital property because it is directly traceable to the non-marital bank account.
If a court decides that property is marital property then the court must determine how to “equitably” divide the property. Remember, equitable doesn’t necessarily mean equal.
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