What is marital (or community) property and what is separate property? What is the difference between the two?
Missouri, Illinois, Kansas, and Oklahoma are equitable division states (or non-community property). However, the answer to this question varies from state to state. Generally, in equitable division states, marital property is everything that either of you earned or acquired during your marriage unless you agree otherwise. So, for example, the money you earned at work, put in a joint checking account, and used to pay household bills is marital property. So is the car you bought and made payments on with money from that account.Separate property belongs only to one spouse. There are some differences in how separate property is defined in different states, but the same general rules apply. The most common forms of separate property are:- Property one spouse owned before the marriage
- Gifts received by one spouse before or during the marriage
- Property acquired during the marriage in one spouse’s name and never used for the benefit of the other spouse or the marriage
- Inheritances received before or during the marriage
- Property that the spouses agree in writing is separate, as long as the writing meets your state’s standards for that type of agreement (called either a transmutation agreement or a post-nuptial agreement)
- Property acquired by one spouse using separate property assets with the intention of keeping it separate, and
- Certain personal injury awards (in general, the portion of the award that repays you for lost earnings is marital property, while any award for pain and suffering is separate)