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Transmutation: When Separate Property Becomes Marital

A tricky concept to understand in divorce and family law is how separate property can turn into marital property through a process known as transmutation. Separate property can be transmuted into marital property when the property is commingled or mixed with marital property during the course of the marriage. It can also be transmuted into marital property when one spouse changes the title from separate ownership to joint ownership.

A common example of transmutation is if one spouse takes separate property or money, for example, an inheritance or a separate bank account and mixes it with marital property. Often, spouses may maintain one bank account throughout their marriage and separate property of one spouse gets put into that joint account, effectively mutated. It is very difficult for the courts to determine what portion of that account was marital property to begin with and what point was separate property. Because of this fact, the court may do equity and divide the account equally. Spouses should consider very carefully what they do with their separate funds. Money received from inheritance or acquired prior to the marriage, if not kept separate, can effectively be transmuted into marital property.