Also known as: sole & separate property · sole-and-separate property · separate property · sole property
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
2 senses
Property acquired in the name of one or more partners without any indication in the transfer instrument of partnership capacity or existence and without use of partnership assets. The property is presumed separate even when used for partnership purposes.
Property acquired in the name of one or more partners without any indication in the transfer instrument of partnership capacity or existence and without use of partnership assets. The property is presumed separate even when used for partnership purposes.
Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
Property belonging exclusively to one spouse that a court must assign to that spouse in a dissolution proceeding rather than divide with the other spouse.
Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
Property belonging exclusively to one spouse that a court must assign to that spouse in a dissolution proceeding rather than divide with the other spouse.
Each sense below has its own examples, sources, and questions.
Seth Shapiro purchased a warehouse in his individual name using personal funds. The deed contained no reference to any partnership. Shapiro later used the warehouse for partnership business with Samantha Stone. When the partnership dissolved, Stone claimed an ownership interest in the warehouse. The court treated the warehouse as Shapiro's sole and separate property because the deed showed no partnership capacity and no partnership funds were used in the purchase.
Silverline Industries partners each bought equipment for personal projects using their own money. One partner titled a truck in his individual name with no partnership notation on the title. When creditors of the partnership sought the truck, the court held it was the partner's sole and separate property because partnership assets had not been used and the title showed no partnership capacity.
A court looks at the name on the title and whether partnership assets were used. Property acquired in a partner's individual name without any partnership indication on the deed and without partnership funds is presumed separate even if later used for partnership business.
Supporting sources
Yes. When title is taken in an individual partner's name without partnership language and without partnership funds, the property remains separate even though the partnership uses it.
Supporting sources
Solomon Silver inherited a vacation cabin before his marriage to Selena Singh. During divorce proceedings Singh sought division of the cabin. The court assigned the cabin to Silver as his sole and separate property because it had been acquired before the marriage and was not commingled with marital assets.
Serena Soto received a large inheritance from her aunt and deposited the funds in an account titled solely in her name. After her divorce from Steven Silva, the court awarded the inheritance account to Soto as her sole and separate property because the funds had never been commingled with marital earnings.
Starlight Media founder owned a recording studio before marriage. Upon dissolution the spouse claimed an interest in the studio. The court awarded the studio to the founder as sole and separate property because title had remained in the founder's name alone and no marital funds had improved the property.
The court assigns each spouse's separate property to that spouse. Only community or marital property is subject to equitable division between the spouses.
Supporting sources
…property; conversely they may agree that each partner's earnings and the property acquired from those earnings remains the separate property of the earning partner.[^maj-10] So long as the agreement does not rest upon illicit meretricious consideration, the parties may order their economic affairs as they choose, and no policy…