Can individual property unintentionally become marital property?
Yes. During a marriage, individual and marital property can get jumbled together. The law presumes this mixed property to be entirely marital property, unless records prove that some portion is individual property. For instance, say you had a savings account before you were married. Over the years, you deposit portions of your paychecks, which are marital property, and the account continues to earn interest. You often withdraw money to pay family expenses. That account has become mixed property and at least partially marital property. It becomes extremely complicated to trace a portion of that account as individual property because multiple deposits, interest earnings, and withdrawals have moved in and out of that account during the marriage. Another example: Youve owned a summer cabin since before you were married. After marriage, your spouse builds an addition to the cabin, without receiving compensation for his or her labor. That extra room boosts the cabins value. The amount of inc
