Singly-held property is the property that belongs to you, and only you. This includes all property you owned before entering your marriage and any property that you receive as a gift or through inheritance during your marriage. Basically, it is your possessions that were not purchased with marital funds.
Sometimes, a piece of property that an individual owned before entering a marriage may be subject to property division if the court finds that his or her spouse’s efforts contributed to the property’s value. For example, if you owned a home prior to entering your marriage and during your marriage, you and your spouse renovated the home, the property could then be subject to equitable distribution despite your owning it prior to entering the marriage.
The best way to ensure that a piece of property remains solely in your possession in a divorce is to have a prenuptial agreement drafted that states you are the sole owner of that property.