In a divorce, it is important to know the difference between marital and separate property. In Georgia, the difference between the two often decides the division of your assets. This may have a significant effect on your financial future.
What is marital property?
Marital property generally includes assets you obtain during marriage, whether your name is on the title or your spouse’s. This typically includes your salary, retirement savings, homes you buy and debt. All of these may count if you obtain them during marriage. Georgia follows equitable distribution. This means the court should divide marital property fairly. Keep in mind that a fair division is not necessarily equal.
Georgia courts generally consider various factors when dividing property. This may include your marriage’s duration, you and your spouse’s financial contributions as well as your future earning potential. Your conduct during your marriage and your contributions as a homemaker may also influence the division.
What is separate property?
Separate property generally includes assets you owned before marriage. If you purchased a car, owned a home or had investment accounts before your marriage began, you typically keep them as separate property. Property you receive as an inheritance also usually qualifies as separate, even if you received it while married.
However, keeping property separate requires careful management. If you mix the two types of property, what is separate can become marital. This is called commingling. For example, if you deposit an inheritance into a joint bank account, it might lose its separate status.
What can you do to protect your assets?
It may help to gather documentation showing when and how you acquired specific assets. Bank statements, property deeds, gift letters and inheritance documents can help establish what should remain separate.
If you commingle assets, tracing their origins may still be possible with proper financial records. Keeping track of your property and compiling evidence early in the divorce process could also help you achieve a more favorable property division outcome and protect assets you believe should be solely yours.
Knowledge helps secure your financial future
By learning the difference between marital and separate property, you may put yourself in a position to protect your assets. The steps you take to organize your financial records and trace your assets can affect what you keep during a divorce in Georgia.
