Marital property is generally property that is acquired during marriage, is jointly owned by the spouses, and is subject to division upon divorce—whether the spouses reside in (1) an equitable distribution or common law property state or (2) in a community property state.

Marital property is distinct from separate property, which is generally property that a spouse acquired before marriage—or acquired by gift or inheritance during marriage—and is not subject to division upon divorce.

Community property states generally include Alaska, Arizona, California, Idaho, Louisiana, Nevada, New Mexico, Texas, Washington, and Wisconsin. In these states, divorce courts generally start with the presumption that the marital property is owned equally by the spouses and will be divided equally upon divorce.

In other states—so-called equitable distribution or common law property states—the divorce court attempts to divide the spouses’ assets equitably (fairly) and may consider a spouse’s separate property in deciding to make an unequal division of the spouses’ marital property.

In practice, the difference between the division of assets in community property states and in equitable distribution states is sometimes not as great as it may seem, as the court in a community property state may have the discretion to divide the spouses’ community property on a 60-40, 70-30, or other unequal basis.

In Arizona, which is a community property state, marital property is considered to be any property that is acquired during the marriage and is presumed to be jointly owned by the spouses. This includes most earnings and assets acquired by either spouse during the marriage. Upon divorce, the court generally starts with the presumption that marital property will be divided equally between the spouses. However, separate property, which is property one spouse acquired before marriage or received as a gift or inheritance during the marriage, is not subject to division upon divorce. While the starting point for division is an equal split, Arizona courts do have the discretion to divide community property in an unequal manner if circumstances warrant it, although this is less common. This approach contrasts with equitable distribution states, where courts divide marital property based on what is considered fair, rather than strictly equally, and may take into account each spouse's separate property when making the division.