There are a lot of questions as to how property is divided during a divorce in Ohio. Usually, this will include physical property, like homes, as well as any assets such as inheritance, retirement funds, or stocks. During the time of your marriage, your property will either fall under marital property or separate property. Just because something is logged as a separate property doesn’t mean it’s not up for grabs during a divorce, though.
What is marital property and what is separate property?
Marital property includes any assets that are obtained during marriage with shared funds. This can include houses, cars, or any other joint assets.
Assets don’t have to be purchased with a shared checking account to be marital property. You can also be together on the loan or bank account information for that asset, and it’s considered marital property.
Separate property includes assets that are obtained before the marriage. This can also be anything that’s given as a solo gift to the person or received as an inheritance during the marriage. Separate property isn’t limited to just those items, though. This can also be anything that the person says is separate property as long as they can prove it to the court of law.
Where does inheritance fall?
Most of the time, inheritance is considered separate property in a divorce. This is because it’s usually specified in the inheritance that it goes to one person, not the married couple.
There’s usually some form of separate property tracing that will determine if an inheritance or other property is truly considered separate. Even if the property is considered separate, it can still be used as a means to determine alimony payments or child support.
It’s up to the person trying to claim separate property to bring documentation forward proving as such. This goes for inheritances and other property or assets. If you can show the court that an asset should be assigned only to you instead of divided, you may be able to keep it for yourself.