If Indiana courts must settle property division disputes, the goal is to establish a fair or equitable settlement. However, the assets that are subject to division can be substantially different if the divorce occurs in Indiana as opposed to other jurisdictions.
Spouses preparing for an Indiana divorce generally need to learn about Indiana’s “whole pot” rule in order to advocate for their interests effectively.
Indiana doesn’t recognize separate property
Resources acquired prior to marriage become part of the marital estate or the pot of marital property once spouses marry.
In other words, neither spouse has the privilege of excluding specific resources from division in a divorce just because they owned them prior to the marriage. Spouses do not need to combine their premarital assets with marital property or add their spouses to ownership records to put their resources at risk of division when they divorce.
It is sometimes still possible for spouses to protect certain resources by negotiating marital agreements with one another. However, without a prenuptial or postnuptial agreement in place, any assets owned by the spouses and any income they earned is at risk of division during the divorce.
Learning more about Indiana’s approach to marital property division can be beneficial for those concerned about preserving resources to rebuild with after a divorce. Yet, especially in cases where spouses cannot agree on what is fair and are likely to litigate, those preparing for divorce may need support and guidance when navigating the law, and that’s okay.
