Property Division in Divorce

Property Division in Divorce can be the most difficult hurdle for most couples. Sometimes all they can fixate on is who gets the coffee table.

First things first. What gets divided? Only property acquired during the marriage. That is called Marital Property. If you brought that coffee table from your bachelor apartment, it is all yours. That is called Non-Marital Property.

But what about the more important and valuable things like the house, retirement accounts, stocks, bank accounts and cars?

If you owned the house before the marriage and never put your spouse’s name on it, then the house is Non-Marital Property. But your wife or husband is entitled to reimbursement for monies he or she put into it such as mortgage payments or payments for house repair.

The same goes for Retirement, Stock and Bank Accounts. But if you made contributions towards those Accounts during the Marriage from your Income, your Wife or Husband is entitled to a share of what you put in and increases in the value of those Accounts during the Marriage. If you really want those Accounts to be entirely yours, you don’t put your spouse’s name on them and you don’t mix them with your other Accounts or put money in from your Income during the Marriage. 

But what about that car, motorcycle or boat? If you owned that car, motorcycle or boat before the marriage, it is all yours.

How is property divided that you did acquire during the Marriage? 

That is called Marital Property. Hopefully you and your lawyers can work out a fair Property Division. If not the Courts will assist you. 

At my firm, Gabrielle Davis, P.C., we strive first and foremost to get our clients the fairest Property Division possible.