Memphis, TN family law attorney Daniel Loyd Taylor talks about the difference between marital and non-marital property. In the context of divorce and the division of property, the first step is to determine what constitutes marital property and what is considered separate property. Broadly speaking, there are three types of separate property:

Any property owned prior to the marriage, provided it has been kept separate.
Any property inherited during the marriage, as long as it has been kept separate.
Any gifts received during the marriage, if they have also been kept separate.
Once separate property has been identified for each spouse, whatever remains is classified as the marital estate and is subject to division in the divorce process. Separate property itself is not subject to division.

However, all three categories of separate property have the caveat that they must have been maintained separately. It is possible to convert separate property into marital property through two primary processes: either by commingling it with marital property or by treating it in such a way that it has gradually transformed from separate property into marital property.

For example, if a person had $50,000 in a savings account before marriage but subsequently deposited it into a joint savings account with their spouse, where the balance grew to $100,000, the funds would have been commingled and lost their identity as separate property. In this scenario, it becomes impossible to distinguish which portion was owned prior to the marriage and which was earned during the marriage.