separate property
Property that is owned by one spouse, but not by the other (compare to community property)
In a community property state, seperate property includes: property obtained before the marriage, through inheretance, or as a gift (a gift to one spouse but not both).
Definition from Nolo’s Plain-English Law Dictionary
In community property states, property owned and controlled entirely by one spouse in a marriage. At divorce, separate property is not divided under the state's property division laws, but is kept by the spouse who owns it. Separate property includes all property that a spouse obtained before marriage, through inheritance, or as a gift. It also includes any property that is traceable to separate property -- for example, cash from the sale of a vintage car owned by one spouse before marriage -- and any property that the spouses agree is separate property. (See also: community property, equitable distribution)
Definition provided by Nolo’s Plain-English Law Dictionary.
August 19, 2010, 5:24 pm
