Dividing Property in a Divorce
KRS 403.190 — each spouse keeps their own property, and marital property is divided in just proportions
The court assigns each spouse's own property to that spouse, then divides the marital property in just proportions without regard to marital misconduct. It considers each spouse's contribution, including as homemaker; the value of the property set apart to each; the length of the marriage; and each spouse's economic circumstances, including whether the parent with custody should have the family home.
- Marital property is everything either spouse acquired after the marriage, whatever name the title is in.
- Gifts and inheritances received during the marriage, and their income, are not marital unless significant efforts of either spouse increased their value.
- Property traded for property owned before the marriage, property excluded by a valid agreement, and property acquired after a legal separation decree are not marital either.
- Growth in value of premarital property stays separate to the extent the spouses' efforts during the marriage did not cause it.
Property acquired after the marriage and before a legal separation decree is presumed to be marital. The presumption is overcome by showing it came in one of the excepted ways.
Sources for this section (1)
- KRS 403.190 — Disposition of property
Legal information, not legal advice. Verified as of October 2026. Applying it to a particular situation is the work of a licensed Kentucky attorney.