Florida's equitable distribution statute divides marital assets and liabilities between the spouses, but it does not reach separate property. Assets owned before the marriage or received as gifts and inheritances during it remain the separate property of the owning spouse, provided they have not been commingled with marital funds. The challenge is that separate property can lose its protected status once it is deposited into joint accounts or used for shared household expenses. A pre-marital savings account that was folded into a joint checking account used for daily expenses may be difficult to trace as separate property years later.
Tracing separate property in a high net worth divorce requires financial records and sometimes forensic accounting support. Bank statements and investment account histories become evidence in a commingling dispute, along with documentation of the source of funds. For Fort Lauderdale clients who came into the marriage with significant assets, or who received substantial inheritances during it, documenting the separate character of those assets early in the case is one of the most important things a high net worth divorce lawyer can help accomplish.
