Non-Marital Property
The law in Indiana presumes that all the property that a married couple own is their "marital property," that is, both own the property. It does not matter who owns legal title.
What is non-marital property?
But the Court will allow you or your spouse to attempt to overcome this presumption. Examples of non-marital property can include cars, boats, motorcycles, houses, real estate, cabins, farms, bank accounts, stocks, certificates of deposit and businesses owned by you or in which you had an interest before your marriage. The Court must assign non-marital property before preceeding with the balance of the divorce case.
How do you protect your non-marital property?
Old titles to your car, credit card receipts, cancelled checks, deeds, wills, and similiar documents are what is needed if your divorce attorney is going to trace property to you and convince the Court it should be yours and not your spouse's.
Not having these documents does not mean you will not be able to get your property back, it may just make it more difficult. It can get really tricky when you had property of some kind before you got married and then sold the property and mixed the money you got from that sale with money you earned during the marriage to buy something else.
With proper documentation, your divorce lawyer may be able to get the value of your non-marital contribution to the purchase of the property back for you. This scenario frequently happens when two people sell their respective homes they lived in before the marriage and take the proceeds to buy a new home.
Prepare an inventory of your non-marital property
Completion of a Non-Marital Inventory is extremely important. This your opportunity to state a claim on all things you owned before your marriage and that were given to you as gifts as well as property inherited by you and bought with money you obtained through of any of these sources.
Remember, however, that many of the items you claim to be non-marital will require proof that you obtained them before the marriage, as a gift exclusively to you, as an inheritance or purhcased with funds from one of those sources.
Inheritance and gifts
For example, if you inherited your father's farm three years ago (before or after your marriage), you may need your father's Will to prove it was an inheritance. On the other hand, if your mother gave you a family heirloom such as her mother's china, you will need your mother or someone else knowledgeable about the circumstances to testify that it was a gift to you and you alone, perhaps with the understanding that you would pass it on to your daughter when she married.
Value of non-marital property
Finally, as you begin to list the non-marital property you are claiming, you must attempt to give each item a value. The value should take into consideration each item's age and condition. Unfortuantely, the Court cannot translate your sentimental attachment to Aunt Becky's rocking chair into money unless it is a true antique. Its true worth is probably what you could sell it for at a public auction or yard sale.
You deserve a divorce attorney who cares about your case. Contact the family law attorneys at Waters, Tyler, Scott, Hofmann & Doane -- (812) 949-1114. Weekend and evening appointments available; major credit cards accepted.
