Assets owned before the marriage, inherited funds, and gifts received individually are generally treated as separate property under Florida law. The complication arises when separate property becomes commingled with marital funds — when premarital savings are deposited into a joint account, when separate real estate is refinanced using marital income, or when inherited assets are used to purchase jointly titled property. Each of these situations can erode the separate property character of the original asset.
For clients in Weston with significant premarital assets or family wealth, tracing and protecting the separate property classification requires documentation and legal argument. A high net worth divorce lawyer who understands Florida's commingling analysis can identify which assets still have a viable separate property claim and build the record needed to support it.
