How is separate property protected in a Louisville divorce? What is the difference between your own separate property, marital property, or commingled assets and debts during a Kentucky divorce? How can our experienced attorneys make a difference and protect the things that are most important to you in your unique divorce case?
Separate property is generally considered to be any debt or asset acquired by either spouse separately prior to the date of the marriage, or after the end of the marriage. Generally speaking, if you owned an asset prior to your marriage it may be considered a separate asset and may not subject to division.
Kentucky is an “equitable division” marital property state when it comes to the division of the debts and assets of a married couple during their divorce. This means any asset acquired by either of the parties during the course of the marriage is generally considered to be “marital property” and will be divided equitably in the eyes of the law, with a few exceptions:
These include:
– most gifts, including properly structured inheritances or bequests, as well as any appreciation or accumulated income generated by such an asset, but maintained completely separate from all marital accounts and assets.
– any property acquired through the exchange of otherwise separate property, or assets and income acquired by separate and properly structured inheritances and bequests.
– Assets obtained after Kentucky legal separation orders
– Assets excluded by a prenuptial or ante-nuptial agreement between the former spouses
How and when is separate property protected in a Louisville divorce? It is important that any “separate” asset is not commingled with marital funds or labor for any reason. If marital funds or labor were contributed to what otherwise might have been the separate asset of one of the parties, the asset can become “commingled” or “blended,” requiring a complex analysis to determine that portion of said asset(s) that are separate property, and that portion considered to be marital property.
If you or your spouse never used money from your marital accounts, or provided labor to support rehabilitation or operations, an asset acquired outside of the marriage will remain separate from the marital assets to be divided during the course of your divorce.
For example, suppose spouse “A” acquired a house before the date of the marriage and rented it out during the course of the marriage. If no marital funds or labor ever supported that house or its repair the house should remain the separate property of spouse “A.” However, if spouse “B” helped to repair the property, or provided substantial labor to support the management of the rental asset, or if marital funds were used at any point to support that property, the marital contributions (and their appreciation or increased valuation) can be considered to be marital property, subject to division to the divorce. The process to determine the specific valuations of the “separate” asset as well as the commingled marital interest can be quite financially and legally complex.
This is especially true when the assets in question involve real estate or a business ownership interest, or blended financial assets such as pensions or retirement accounts.
If you are concerned about substantial assets, and/or the classification and equitable division of marital property and commingled assets you will need the decades of experience provided by Dodd & Dodd attorneys, PLLC. Ask about the impact of taxation, and how our tax attorney can help to provide valuable advice at every point of the divorce process.
How is separate property protected in a Louisville divorce? Our Louisville based divorce and family law attorneys protect these interests at every stage of property division and associated negotiations. We invite you to review the strong recommendations of our former clients and the legal industry and contact Dodd & Dodd or call 502-584-1108 to schedule an appointment with one of our attorneys.
