• Generally, it is property acquired after the date of the marriage and before a spouse files for separation or divorce. The phrase marital property is used in equitable-distribution states and is roughly equivalent to community property.
— Also termed marital estate. See COMMUNITY PROPERTY; EQUITABLE DISTRIBUTION. [Cases: Divorce 248; Husband and Wife 6–15(6). C.J.S. Divorce §§ 508–511, 580–582; Estates§ 19.]