Marital property - Myth 1

The misconception that we often hear in divorce matters is that the law says "what's mine is mine, what's yours is yours and what's joint is divided."  In the world of marriage, divorce and family law, it is more like the following:  what's yours is marital, what's theirs is marital and what's joint is marital.  That's right.  Anything that was acquired during the marriage (with some limited exceptions) up to the date of separation is considered to be part of the marital estate and therefore subject to division as part of a divorce.  Your retirement that you earned during the marriage... marital.  The other spouse's savings account that was saved during the marriage... marital.  The equity in the house that was earned in part by one party's payment of the mortgage during the marriage... marital.  Again, there are some exceptions to this general rule, but the important thing to remember is that title of an asset alone does not determine whether it is subject to division or not.