Q: Car daughter's before marriage. After totaled and replaced w/ins. Dau only on titles/ins. Separate or marital property?
The car was our daughter's before her marriage. The car was totaled by her husband and was then replaced with a car purchased solely with the insurance proceeds. Her name was the only one on the titles to both vehicles and the insurance policy. Is the second car separate or marital property, as it only replaced a car that was her separate property?
A:
I'd say the second car is separate because it was bought with the proceeds from the first car. In law, the fact that something is sold doesn't change the character of the item -- in other words, the first car was separate b/c it was from before marriage. That means the insurance payout is, most likely, separate. When the insurance payout was transformed into the second car, the second car became separate as well even though it was acquired during the marriage by some means other than gift, devise, or bequest.
This is the theory as I can intuit it right now. What will also matter is, in any impending case, how this second car is claimed. If he claims it as community, he'll have to argue why he thinks that is. If she claims it as separate, she has to argue why she thinks that way.
Good luck.
Andy
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