Many people enter their marriage with assets, whether it be a retirement account, a home, or even just money in a bank account. Often when they get divorced, even without a pre-nuptial agreement, they want to keep those assets. However, the presumption in Wisconsin is an equal division of property, at the time of divorce. This does not mean in every case an equal division of property will occur—rather, that is the starting point. According to Wisconsin Statute 767.61, the Court may consider a number of factors to help determine how property should be divided. 

When it comes to pre-marital credits, the length of the marriage will play a large role. The shorter the marriage is, the more likely one is to receive credit for the assets they had prior to the marriage. The Court will also consider the total economic situation of the parties, and their contribution to the marriage. If one party will be leaving with substantial assets, even if some of those are pre-marital, and the other will be left with nothing, the Court will likely try to find a way to even the playing field, somewhat. This will be especially true if the party without assets was an equal or over-the-top contributor to the marriage, and the marriage was longer than a few years in duration.

Every Court official thinks about and applies the statutory property division factors differently and there is never a guarantee that anyone will receive a pre-marital credit for assets brought to the marriage. If you have assets prior to marriage that you want to protect, your best option is to enter into a pre-nuptial agreement and refrain from intermixing individual property with other assets, throughout the marriage.