Marital asset division: the inventory work that decides everything else

The inventory is the case

Asked what decides marital asset division, practitioners give an unglamorous answer: the inventory. A complete inventory changes the negotiation immediately, because both parties know what is actually on the table. An incomplete one produces disputes about hypotheticals, and settlements that later prove unworkable.

The working inventory should record, for each asset: description, registered owner, date of acquisition, source of funds, current status (held, sold, transferred, encumbered), and the document that proves each point.

Marital, separate, and mixed

• Marital property. Property acquired during the marriage under the statutory regime, subject to the parties' own written agreement.
• Separate property. Property acquired before the marriage, or acquired as personal property under the statutory rules or by agreement — subject to exceptions and to contribution arguments.
• Mixed assets. The most common and the hardest: a pre-marital property with mortgage repayments made during the marriage, an inherited business that grew during the marriage, a personal account used for family expenses.

Commingling and tracing

Mixing funds makes ownership arguable, and tracing is how the argument is settled. Bank statements, transfer records and, where necessary, audit evidence establish what went where. This is also the reason to act early: records are easier to obtain before a dispute becomes adversarial, and movement of funds during a dispute is far more difficult to explain than movement years earlier.

What to gather, in order of value

1. Property and vehicle registries — the fastest way to establish what exists.
2. Bank and brokerage statements covering the whole of the marriage, not just recent years.
3. Company filings and share registers.
4. Tax filings, which often reveal assets that appear nowhere else.
5. Insurance policies, pension records and any trust or nominee arrangements.

Frequently asked questions