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 Vermont, the regulation of marital property falls under the category of equitable distribution, as Vermont is not a community property state. Upon divorce, the court will divide marital property in a manner that it deems fair, but not necessarily equal. Marital property includes assets and debts acquired during the marriage, which are subject to division. Separate property, which consists of assets acquired before the marriage or received as a gift or inheritance during the marriage, is typically not divided between the spouses in a divorce. The court considers various factors to determine an equitable distribution, such as the length of the marriage, the income and assets of each spouse, and contributions to the marriage, including non-monetary contributions like homemaking and child-rearing. The goal is to reach a fair outcome that considers the circumstances of each spouse, rather than an automatic 50-50 split.