EQUITABLE DISTRIBUTION

“Marital property” is any real (meaning land or buildings) or personal property acquired by either spouse or both spouses during marriage and before the date of separation. This would include gifts from one spouse to the other, gifts from other people to both spouses, personal injury recoveries during the marriage, etc. “Marital property” goes through equitable distribution and is divided.

“Separate property” includes all real and personal property acquired by a spouse by bequest, devise, descent, or gift during the course of the marriage. A gift from one spouse to the other during the marriage is marital property unless the donor states at the time of the conveyance that it is intended to be separate property. Separate property also includes income from separate property and property obtained in exchange for separate property.

“Divisible property” includes all property that was obtained during this time period so long as it was acquired as a result of the “efforts of either spouse during the marriage and before the date of separation.” An example of this would be a bonus that is received after the date of separation but came from a job that the spouse had during the course of the marriage. “Divisible property” is treated the same as “marital property” and is divided between the spouses in ED.