Designation of Separate Property and Release of Marital Property Rights Regarding Certain Real Property - Free Trader Agreement as to Certain Real Property
Definition and meaning
The Designation of Separate Property and Release of Marital Property Rights Regarding Certain Real Property, often referred to as the Free Trader Agreement as to Certain Real Property, is a legal document used by married individuals to establish the boundaries of property ownership between spouses. This agreement allows one spouse to declare their ownership of specific real property as separate from marital assets and ensures that the other spouse waives any claim or rights to that property.
How to complete a form
To properly complete this form, follow these steps:
- Fill in the date at the top of the form.
- Provide the names of both parties (Husband and Wife).
- Enter the street address, city, county, state, and zip code for the current residence of both spouses.
- Indicate the marriage date between the parties.
- Describe the specific real property that is being designated as separate, including its legal description.
- Both parties must sign and date the agreement at the bottom.
- Have the document notarized to authenticate the signatures.
Who should use this form
This form is suitable for married couples who wish to clearly define the ownership of real property that one spouse owned prior to the marriage. It is especially relevant for individuals who want to ensure that their separate property remains protected in the event of divorce or separation.
Key components of the form
The essential components of this agreement include:
- Date of the agreement: The date the form is executed.
- Names of the parties: The legal names of both spouses.
- Property description: Detailed legal description of the property being designated as separate.
- Waiver clause: A clear statement that one spouse waives all rights to the property.
- Signature lines: Lines for both spouses to sign.
- Notary section: A section for notarization, confirming the authenticity of signatures.
Form popularity
FAQ
A spouse's separate property includes all property he or she owned prior to the marriage, acquired by gift from a third-party during the marriage, or received by inheritance.Commingling, or mixing separate property with marital property, is another way that separate property can be converted to marital property.
Though the term non-marital property often refers to any personal or real property owned prior to, and brought into the marriage, it can also refer to things such as inheritances and gifts made to only one spouse.
Marital property is all property acquired or earned during the marriage up until the date of separation. Pensions, retirement benefits, and other deferred compensation rights earned during the marriage are also marital property.
Property one spouse owned alone, before the marriage, or acquired by gift or inheritance during the marriage, is that spouse's separate property in California.California law also provides that property spouses acquire before a divorce, but after the date of separation, is separate property.
Separate property can become marital property if it is mixed with marital property. For example, if one of the spouses uses money they had before the marriage to buy a house for the couple, that money might become marital property.
Marital property refers generally to all of the property acquired by either or both spouses during the marriage. Separate property refers to any property the spouses acquired separately before the marriage or after separation (or in some states after divorce).
Marital property includes real estate and other property a couple buys together during their marriage, such as a home or investment property, cars, boats, furniture, or artwork, when not acquired by either as separate property.
In North Carolina, marital property can be divided between the parties, while separate property is not divided. In general, assets or debts either spouse had before the marriage are separate property belonging to that spouse, and will not be divided.
When a spouse buys a home before the marriage, that home is generally that spouse's separate property. However, the situation becomes more complicated when the spouse who is not on title contributes money to the mortgage or payments for improvements to the home during the marriage.
