marital property in maryland

[mukti789]

I have one personal saving and one personal checking account before marriage and one joint saving account after marriage. My paycheck goes to my checking account and my wife’s pay check goes to her checking account. Does my personal check and saving account is considered at marital property in state of Maryland? During divorce can my wife claim on that amount in my personal account. I reside in Maryland and I do not have kids and been married for 2 years.

 

[FlyingRon]

Everything that is acquired (other than inheritance) after marriage in Maryland is marital property. It makes no different how the accounts or property is titled. All the money that either of you earn is marital property and so is any interest earned. You may be able to exclude the money you had in the personal accounts at the time of the marriage.

 

[sandyclaus]

I have one personal saving and one personal checking account before marriage and one joint saving account after marriage. My paycheck goes to my checking account and my wife’s pay check goes to her checking account. Does my personal check and saving account is considered at marital property in state of Maryland? During divorce can my wife claim on that amount in my personal account. I reside in Maryland and I do not have kids and been married for 2 years.

Why did the two of you bother even having and keeping separate checking accounts after you got married, unless you planned on squirreling some of your money away for just such a situation as the one you now are considering?

It doesn't matter if you have separate accounts. If the money was earned during the marriage, and spent on shared expenses during the marriage, one can easily argue that it's marital property - whether it's in an individual or joint account. Your wife can claim your personal account balances as marital property if she can show that the money deposited was earned during the course of the marriage, just as you can do the same with money she has in her own personal accounts.

Once you file for divorce, you'll BOTH be obligated to reveal both the existence and transaction records of all accounts you hold individually. You'll each have to prove when the money was obtained and how it was spent to determine how much can be counted as marital assets.

 

[LdiJ]

Why did the two of you bother even having and keeping separate checking accounts after you got married, unless you planned on squirreling some of your money away for just such a situation as the one you now are considering?

It doesn't matter if you have separate accounts. If the money was earned during the marriage, and spent on shared expenses during the marriage, one can easily argue that it's marital property - whether it's in an individual or joint account. Your wife can claim your personal account balances as marital property if she can show that the money deposited was earned during the course of the marriage, just as you can do the same with money she has in her own personal accounts.

Once you file for divorce, you'll BOTH be obligated to reveal both the existence and transaction records of all accounts you hold individually. You'll each have to prove when the money was obtained and how it was spent to determine how much can be counted as marital assets.

Its not unusual for spouses to have separate accounts. My parents did and they were married for over 50 years. My mother is now a widow. Otherwise, I agree with everything else that you said.

 

[ecmst12]

Nothing wrong with keeping separate accounts, but either way income that you earn during marriage is marital property. For both of you.

 

[single317dad]

This is why you don't commingle pre-marital assets with marital assets; it makes it much harder to determine what's left of what you brought into the marriage.

 

[Bali Hai]

This is why you don't commingle pre-marital assets with marital assets; it makes it much harder to determine what's left of what you brought into the marriage.

This is why you don't get married, PERIOD.