Commingling
Mixing separate property with shared property so thoroughly that it stops being possible to tell them apart.
What it means
Commingling is what happens when property one spouse owned separately is combined with property of the marriage: an inheritance deposited into a joint account, married earnings paying down a mortgage on a house owned before the wedding, or a separate account both spouses pay into.
The problem it creates is one of proof rather than of intention. Where a state presumes property is shared, an asset that can no longer be traced may be treated as shared even though nobody decided it should be.
Keeping something separate is therefore an ongoing practice rather than a one-time act: separate accounts, records of where money came from, and care about who pays for improvements.
Why it matters
It is how an inheritance meant to stay in one family quietly stops being separate.
It is also why a schedule of what each person brought, prepared carefully at the outset, is worth more than it looks.
When you are likely to meet it
- When an inheritance or a gift arrives during a marriage.
- When married earnings pay a mortgage, or fund improvements, on property one spouse owned first.
How this varies by state
What effect commingling has, and what it takes to trace an asset back to its separate origin, are decided by state law and differ.