Glossary
Separate Property
Property that generally belongs to one spouse individually and is not divided as marital property, though classification can depend on how the property was acquired, titled, or used.
Separate property typically includes property owned before the marriage, and property received during the marriage by gift or inheritance to one spouse alone.
The complication is that separate property does not always stay separate. Depositing inherited funds into a joint account, using them for a marital purpose, or both spouses contributing to the upkeep of a premarital asset can change how a court treats it.
Documentation is what usually decides these disputes: records showing where an asset came from, how it was held, and how it was used during the marriage.
General information about Tennessee law, not legal advice. How this applies depends on the facts of your matter.
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