Understanding Separate Property: A Guide for Married and Divorcing Individuals
Hello, I’m Oklahoma City family lawyer Dillan Savage of Wirth Law Office. Today we are going to be defining and discussing what separate property is for married individuals and divorcing individuals.
So separate property is both simple and extremely complicated at the same time. Put simply, separate property is the property that one individual spouse has alone and the other spouse has no right to. It could be the property that you gained before the marriage and that was never increased in value or changed in any way during the marriage.
Key Characteristics of Separate Property
It can also be inherited property that was never increased in value due to the marriage. Just things that are your individual property and at that point that individual property stays that way again unless it is increased in value by the marriage. The spouse will have no claim to separate property, so it is extremely important to know what separate property is or define what separate property is during a divorce proceeding.
Of course, during divorces, you will often see parties argue over what is and is not marital property. But you can go back to the rule of thumb: did we obtain this property due to our marriage through our mutual funds, and was it increased in value due to our marriage? A lot of the time, if you obtain something during your marriage, it’s likely going to be considered marital property.
Identifying Separate Property
The easiest way to look at separate property is: did I obtain it before the marriage, and did it increase in value due to our marriage or not? If you found this to be helpful or you believe it could help somebody else, please go to theoklahomacityattorney.com.
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I’m OKC divorce attorney Dillan Savage at Wirth Law Office. If you have questions about separate property or need assistance, call us at 405-888-5400 for a low-cost consultation. Thank you for watching!
