Indiana Divorce Law...

Indiana Law - What is "Separate Property?"

In many states, "separate property" is any of the following:

• Property a party owned before marriage.
• Property a party acquired during the marriage by gift or inheritance.
• Income from either of these.
• Property acquired explicitly as separate property during the marriage.
• Post-separation earnings , gains, or winnings.

In many states, this property stays with the spouse who owns it.

In Indiana, however, this property is available to be distributed as part of the marital "pot," and so the notion of "separate property" is less important in Indiana than elsewhere.

However, in one case, the court left the entire inheritance with the spouse who received it, noting that the spouse had left the proceeds in separate CD's.

Cases:

Castaneda (1993) 615 NE2d 467 (court included wife's $112,000 inheritance in marital "pot" but awarded full amount to wife; wife was employed part time as medical technician; children were ages 4, 6, and 8 at filing, and wife never commingled funds with her husband, and left proceeds in certificates of deposit).

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