define: Non-Marital Property
In divorce proceedings, the court will differentiate between what constitutes “marital property” and what constitutes “non-marital property.” All marital property will get divided equitably between the spouses as part of the divorce process. All non-marital property will remain with the spouse who owns it. Non-marital property includes any property owned by a spouse prior to the marriage, any property received as a gift by one spouse during the marriage (by someone other than the other spouse) and any inheritance received by one spouse. Marital property is everything else.
property Division Attorneys
It is presumed that all property in a divorce is marital. Therefore, the burden of proof shifts to the spouse wanting to prove that any property is non-marital (i.e. owned prior to the marriage or was received as a gift or inheritance). If a spouse is unable to adequately trace property as being non-marital, it will be deemed marital and subject to an equitable division in the divorce.
Some assets will be part marital property and part non-marital property, such as retirement accounts and real estate. If a spouse owned a 401(k) at the time of marriage, but also contributed to the 401(k) during the marriage, then that 401(k) will be part marital and part non-marital. In such a case, it is important to obtain account statements for the year the parties got married to know what the value was at that time. It may also be important to obtain account statements for every year of the marriage, to determine if any distributions or transfers were made from the account.
A house is another asset that frequently contains both marital property and non-marital property. When a spouse owned a home at the time of marriage, that individual will need to determine the non-marital percentage as part of the divorce process. To do so, the spouse will need to establish what the house was worth and how much was owed on the mortgage at the time of marriage. Thus, if the house was worth $100,000 and $75,000 was owed on the mortgage, the spouse would have a 25% non-marital interest in the home. That 25% interest would carry forward to the time of the divorce. Therefore, if the house is worth $200,000 at the time of divorce, the non-marital interest would then be worth $50,000. There are other factors that may affect these non-marital interests, such as improvements to the home during the marriage (active appreciation vs. passive appreciation) and whether the mortgage was refinanced with money disbursed during the marriage.
Contact an Experienced Divorce Law Firm
Whether certain property is considered marital or non-marital as part of a divorce process, can have substantial financial implications on both spouses. If you or your spouse are claiming property as non-marital, it is very important that you contact an experienced Minnesota divorce attorney for advice and representation. The legal team at Blahnik, Prchal & Stoll are experienced in all areas of divorce and property division, and will guide you through the process.