NYC family law attorney S. Susan Gross explains the difference between marital and non-marital property in New York. She points out that, while the question may seem simple, determining separate versus marital property in New York can be quite complex. Generally, separate property includes assets owned at the date of the marriage, inheritances received during the marriage, gifts given solely to one spouse, and personal injury awards. However, complications arise when those assets are commingled or their character changes over time.

Her role is to trace these assets carefully: examining what was brought into the marriage or received as a gift, how it was used, spent, or reinvested during the marriage, and whether it maintained its separate status. For example, a business owned at the time of marriage may have grown significantly through the efforts of the titled spouse, potentially transforming some or all of its appreciation into marital property. Contributions from the non-titled spouse also factor into the analysis, as New York does not simply divide marital property 50/50.

With her forensic accounting expertise, she reconstructs the marital estate to understand the evolution of separate and marital property. She uses a metaphor to illustrate the process: separate property is like white paint brought into the marriage, but when combined with “red paint”—effort, money, or time contributed during the marriage—it turns pink. The challenge lies in determining how much of that pink paint can be considered separate property versus marital property, which varies by asset and circumstance.