Marital Property
Also known as: Community Property (in community property states)
Property acquired by either spouse during the marriage, subject to division at divorce — either equally (in community-property states) or equitably (in the rest).
Marital property generally includes everything either spouse earned or acquired during the marriage, plus appreciation on separate property that's the result of marital effort. In community-property states, this property is divided equally at divorce by default; in equitable-distribution states, it's divided fairly based on many factors.
A prenup's main job is to redefine what counts as marital property. For example, a prenup can say: appreciation on a business owned by one spouse will not be marital property; income earned during the marriage will be the earning spouse's separate property; or property purchased with separate funds will remain separate even if titled jointly.
Related terms
- Separate Property — Property owned by one spouse individually — typically property owned before the marriage, plus gifts and inheritances received during the marriage.
- Community Property — A marital property system used in 9 US states under which property and earnings acquired during marriage are jointly owned and divided equally on divorce, absent a prenup.
- Equitable Distribution — The marital property system used in the 41 non-community-property US states (plus DC). Marital property is divided "fairly" — not necessarily equally — at divorce.
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