Marital assets in divorce: A simple guide

When a relationship ends, untangling your assets during this emotionally charged time can be challenging. You’ll encounter lots of legal terminology, particularly around how to split your assets during your divorce. One of the important financial disclosures you and your ex-partner are legally obligated to provide is around marital assets.

Marital assets can cover a wide range of items, including things you’ve bought, looked after, inherited or built together during your time as a married couple. These are more than just numbers in your bank accounts and can be tangible or intangible assets. Often, marital assets are attached to strong memories and even a sense of identity.

What is a marital asset?

In English and Welsh law, a marital asset is simply:

Anything of value that either spouse owns and that was built up during the marriage, which can be shared if the marriage ends.

It’s different from non-marital (or ‘separate’) assets, which are things generally kept outside of the marriage’s shared finances. However, these may also be taken into account by the court.

A typical list of marital assets to be split in divorce can include:

• The family home or properties owned before marriage
• Savings
• Pensions
• Investments (stock portfolios, company shares)
• Items of value (such as vehicles, jewellery, furniture, art and electronics)
• Inheritance

It’s important to approach the conversation about marital assets with sensitivity and be prepared to work as a team to negotiate a split that feels balanced and fair.

Marital vs. non-marital assets in England & Wales

We’ve included a simple table below to show a few key examples of assets that you may need to include in your financial settlement. However, the law means that although a 50/50 split is the starting point for negotiations, the court will also take into consideration each person’s needs and long-term financial stability.

Type of asset	Normally marital (shared)	Normally non-marital (kept separate)	Grey area (depends on circumstances)
Family home	✔ Always, even if bought by one spouse before marriage if lived in together	✘ Rarely
Other property bought during marriage	✔	✘
Savings built up during marriage	✔	✘
Pensions built up during marriage	✔	✘
Property owned before marriage	✘	✔ Usually separate	✔ If it’s used as the family home or mixed into shared finances
Inheritance received during marriage	✘ Normally separate	✔ Usually separate	✔ If it’s used for joint purposes (e.g., paying off the mortgage)
Gifts from third parties to one spouse	✘	✔	✔ If used for joint purposes or mixed in with marital funds
Business assets	✔ If built up during marriage	✘ If pre-existing	✔ If pre-marriage business grows significantly during marriage

Three important points to remember about marital asset splits:

1. The court is focused on achieving fairness, so even non-marital assets can be brought in if needed to meet both partners’ needs, the living situation of any children and long-term independent financial security
2. Mixing finances often turns separate property into marital property, for example if rent from an owned property enters a joint account or money is used for a shared mortgage
3. Separating couples often forget about pensions; these are important and need to be included

How to decide your shared marital assets in divorce

From the businesses you’ve built together, pension pots intended for your financial security, the home you’ve raised your children in and precious gifts you’ve given and received during your marriage – revisiting these can bring up strong emotions, and deciding on shared assets should be handled with kindness.

You could start with the sharing principle and simply agree that everything built up during the marriage (including things done separately during this time) should be shared equally.

Then there may be an adjustment for the needs of each individual, especially when children, pets, earning potential or health vulnerabilities are taken into account. Their needs will be weighted over strict equal division.

Top tips to start your marital asset division:

1. Disclose all your assets to your ex-partner
2. Agree about what counts as clearly pre-marital or separate
3. Divide your shared pot equally, unless there is a key reason not to: e.g., if meeting the needs of one spouse means separate assets must still be shared
4. Approach the conversation with kindness, empathy and a willingness to compromise to make sure both of you (and any children) will be financially secure post-divorce
5. Consider how the court will view your settlement (fairness being more important than an equal split)

What to do if you and your ex can’t agree on marital assets

At amicable, we understand how difficult it can be to revisit the parts of your life that you’ve built together as a couple, and it can sometimes be difficult to agree.

Sorting out finances can become even more confusing if you and your ex-partner feel unsure about what counts as a marital assets, or when you can’t agree on aspects of your financial split. We can guide both of you through your agreement, or help you create a balanced and court-ready financial split that takes into account both of your needs, living situation and long-term financial security.

Our expert Divorce Specialists will lay out all of your options, help you define marital assets, highlight the less obvious ones and keep you focused on working as a team to uncouple with kindness. Speak with a Divorce Specialist for free to find out how we can save you money and reduce stress around marital assets.