In Virginia, any property earned or acquired individually before the marriage is called a separate property. If the property was owned by that spouse before the marriage, received as an inheritance or gift during the marriage, or purchased with the earnings derived from other separate property, then it is likely considered separate property and will not be taken into account during property division.
Business ownership may or may not be separate property, even if the business was created prior to the marriage. If most of its value was owed to its concept, then the business is more likely to be separate property. On the other hand, if the business’s value is owed to the time and personal effort put by a spouse into the business after marriage, then the income derived out of that work is less likely to be regarded as separate and is more likely marital property.