Common excluded-property categories
Section 85 includes certain property acquired before the relationship, inheritances and gifts from third parties, some trust interests, and other listed categories.
Tracing is evidence work
If excluded money was moved through accounts, used as a down payment or converted into another asset, bank statements, purchase records and closing documents can become central.
Growth may be family property
Even where the original property is excluded, an increase in value during the relationship can be treated differently under the Act. Do not assume the whole current value remains excluded.
When unequal division arises
Section 95 is a separate question. It allows unequal division only where equal division would be significantly unfair, based on statutory factors.
Cost planning
Build the tracing chronology before paying for extensive expert work. Often the first question is whether the documents can prove the exclusion at all.