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 Michigan, marital property is subject to division upon divorce under the principles of equitable distribution, as Michigan is not a community property state. This means that during a divorce, the court will divide the couple's assets in a manner that it deems fair, but not necessarily equal. Marital property includes assets and debts acquired during the marriage, which are considered jointly owned by the spouses. Separate property, on the other hand, includes assets acquired before the marriage or received as a gift or inheritance during the marriage, and it is typically not divided during a divorce. The court will consider various factors, such as the length of the marriage, the contributions of each spouse to the marital estate, the age and health of the parties, and their life circumstances, to determine an equitable division of marital property. While equitable does not mean equal, the division aims to be fair and just, considering the specific circumstances of the marriage and divorce.