Whatever you own before marriage belongs to you, and you only. Imagine a house that you purchased with your own money. This house will remain your as long as you live there by yourself. However, when you get married and your spouse moved into the house to live with you, this property gets shared between the two of you under the legal contract of marriage and it becomes a commingled/merged property. In the case of a divorce, your spouse will have an interest on this house which was originally yours and you may not want this, especially if the value of the property at stake is too high. Discussed in this article are 5 ways in which you can prevent your assets from getting commingled in the marriage so that you will have full ownership if things don’t go so well with your spouse. 
An Account with Your Name on ItWhen purchasing any assets that you want to keep for yourself, be sure to make the payments through an account that is owned by you separately. You spouse must know about the existence of the said accounts because otherwise, they might accuse you of hiding commingled monies in secret accounts.
A Prenuptial Agreement These are also known as premarital agreements and its content specifies which assets are shared in the marriage between the two individuals and which assets are not. By hiring a good family lawyer Melbourne city has to offer, you and your spouse can enter into this detailed agreement which will protect each other’s assets in the case of a divorce or a break up.
Keep Your Name in Deeds for Your PropertiesYou must specifically mention your name and your name only in any deeds for your separate assets which you don’t want to get commingled in the marriage. It is also important to make sure your spouse does not in any way get involved in the allocation of funds for maintenance, repair or compensation of the said property. For instance, if there is a plantation that you own, do not let your spouse pay for any of its activities. Allocate your own funds for the job and don’t let the property get merged into the marriage. If you fail to do so, not even the best divorce lawyers Melbourne holds will be able to rid you of the many troubles that will arise if it ever comes to a separation.
Don’t Use Your Properties to Pay off Marital Debts All the assets that you don’t want to share with your spouse must be kept completely outside the boundaries of your marriage. Whatever it is or no matter how much it is worth, if you use what is yours to pay off a debt you both incurred as a married couple, it will get commingled and therefore, you will not be able to fully claim it in the situation of a divorce.
