A lot of people contact me asking questions about whether or not certain types of property will be divided during a divorce. The most common examples may include inheritance, businesses and real estate. Some people come into a marriage with a lot of property while others do not have a lot of assets when they get married.

Regardless, when two people get a divorce property will get divided into three separate types of property: Marital, Separate and Hybrid. So what is separate property, and what are some common examples?

What is Separate Property in a Divorce?

Virginia law actually has a legal definition of separate property. Virginia law defines separate property as:

1. All property, real and personal, acquired by either party before the marriage;

2. All property acquired during the marriage by bequest, devise, descent, survivorship, or gift from a source other than the other party;

3. All property acquired during the marriage in exchange for or from the procees of sale of separate property so long as that property was maintained as separate.

4. Income derived from separate property so long as not attributable to labor from during the marriage;

5. Increase in value of separate property unless contributed to during the marriage

These are the five most common types of separate property. This is a lot of legal jargon to say that separate property is essentially those items you bring into a marriage that you keep separate and do not comingle or contribute marital funds or labor to.

What Are Examples of Separate Property?

A good example of separate property is a business that you start prior to marriage. That business starts out as separate property, and would normally not be divided during the marriage. The income from that business would also not be divided, nor would increase in value, unless you make substantial marital contributions to that business.

For example, if your spouse invests in your business after you are married, you add your spouse to the business as a joint owner, or you take out additional financing during the marriage then that may turn the business into joint property that has to be divided.

Another example of separate property is a house that you owned prior to marriage. So long as you do not add your spouse to the house and it is owned outright, you normally would not have to reimburse your spouse anything during the divorce unless there were major renovations or marital investments in the property. If the house is mortgaged and you pay it down during the marriage, then substantial portions of those mortgage payments would get divided since you are investing marital funds into the property.

Why You Need a Divorce Lawyer.

If you are going through a divorce and have substantial assets, then it is important to have a divorce lawyer to help you catalog all of your property and figure out how much of it will be divided and how much the other spouse is entitled to. The divorce lawyer can also make sure you do not waive any interest you may have in the other spouse’s assets as a result of marital contributions to the property. Make sure to hire a lawyer if you are considering a divorce.