what is marital property 
marital property is a u s state level legal term that refers to property acquired during the course of a marriage property that an individual owns before a marriage is considered separate property as are inheritances or third party gifts given to an individual during a marriage marriage partners may choose to exclude certain property from marital property by signing a prenuptial or a postnuptial agreement some of the details described below won t affect a couple unless they divorce or until one of them dies but it s important for couples to learn about the different types of marital property so that when they acquire real estate or other property they know how ownership can be arranged and choose the structure that represents their true intentions understanding marital propertymarital property includes real estate and other property a couple buys together during their marriage such as a home or investment property cars boats furniture or artwork when not acquired by either as separate property bank accounts pensions securities and retirement accounts are also included even an individual retirement account which is individually owned by law is marital property if earned income is contributed to it during the course of a marriage this legal definition of marital property primarily exists to protect spousal rights a couple s permanent legal residence in either a common law property state or a community property state determines which laws govern their marital property and how it can be divided if their marriage ends in divorce 1common law property states vs community property states