There are many things that you need to think about when getting a divorce and the splitting of property is one of them. The way that marital property will be split during a divorce will depend on the rules of the state and can be best explained by a divorce attorney. There are certain states that have community property laws while others have equitable distribution laws. It is important that you know what these laws will entail and how they will affect the split of marital property.
What Is Community Property Divorce?
There are 11 states in the United States that have community property laws. These states will view all marital property either community property or separate property. When getting a divorce in one of these states, all community property will be equally divided. The separate property will not be split between the divorcing parties.
When you divorce in these states and take your divorce to the courts, you need to be aware that the courts will not literally split all of the property. They will generally add up the total value of the marital property and give each spouse a percentage of this. If you are not going to be taking the divorce to the courts, you will need to equally split the property yourself and ensure that each party receives the same percentage of the community property.
What Is Equitable Distribution Divorce?
All other states in the United States will have equitable distribution laws for divorce. This means that a judge will determine what is fair and equitable in terms of property splits. This could result in one of the parties getting a larger portion of the community property than the other.
In most cases, this will result in the higher earning spouse getting two-thirds of the community property. The lower earning spouse will often get a third of the community property. Of course, this property split will not include any spousal payments that will need to be made after the divorce.
If your divorce is not taken to the courts in these states, you will be able to determine the split on your own. This can be done through mediation or arbitration if you do not have a good relationship with your soon to be ex. The split of marital property will be based on income and contribution to the community property.
What Are The Types Of Property
While it is important to know about the laws in your state, you also need to know what types of property are considered during divorce. There are 3 types of property that you need to know about and consider how they will be split. These types of property will be community property, separate property, and property bought with commingled funds.
Community property is also known as marital property which is any assets or debts which accumulated during the marriage. The only time property gained during the marriage is not considered community property is when it has been specifically designed otherwise. Community property will be subject to state laws regarding the split of property during divorce.
Separate property will be any property or debt which was acquired before the marriage by either spouse. Additionally, any property which has been bought during the marriage using separate property will be considered separate property. This means that a boat bought with an inheritance from before the marriage will be considered separate property even when it is bought during the marriage.
However, it is important to note that there are times when separate property will be considered community property. An example of this will be a business which is started before the marriage, but has been sustained by the marriage.
Property bought with commingled funds will be a mixture of community and separate property. When this happens, the courts will generally consider it to be community property and subject to divorce laws in the state. If you want to keep anything out of community property, you need to ensure that it remains separate and no community money is used for to sustain it.
When it comes to property split during a divorce, the laws in the state will play a large role. The type of property you are looking at will also be important as community property is subject to splits while separate property is not.
The foregoing article is not intended and should not be used or construed as legal advice. It is merely intended as opinion. For legal advice, please seek the advice of a licensed attorney.