Your Legal Guide Through Life’s Twists And Turns

What is exempt from marital property division?

| Sep 22, 2017 | Property Division

The decision to divorce isn’t easy — especially when you’ve been married for a long time and have a great deal of shared assets with one another. You and your spouse will need to divide your assets by determining what assets are legally divisible as a part of your marital estate and what assets are not considered a part of the marital estate.

Generally speaking, the state of Tennessee, almost all income, debt, assets and property generated, earned or acquired following the date of marriage are considered marital property. This property is divisible in divorce. However, some property may be classified as individual property.

This individual property in a Tennessee divorce will probably include:

  • Property owned by either spouse before they got married.
  • Property that was acquired by either spouse after being paid for with individual property acquired before marriage.
  • Property appreciation or capital gains on assets owned prior to marriage.
  • Personal injury awards: This might include money acquired as compensation for pain and suffering, victim compensation, compensation for medical-related expenses and other civil damages.
  • Property that was gifted to the spouse, even property gifted by the other spouse, and inherited property.

Tennessee spouses considering divorce may want to get a handle on how their property will likely be divided before they choose to move forward with the process. A family law attorney can help spouses evaluate their current asset situation to determine how property will likely be divided and who will get to keep what in their divorce process. In many cases, Tennessee couples can come to an out-of-court agreement on asset division and file a Marital Dissolution Agreement, which can save couples a great deal of money in legal and court costs.

Source: FindLaw, “Tennessee Marital Property Laws,” accessed Sep. 22, 2017

Archives

FindLaw Network