When couples decide to get married, they join their lives, combining most of their assets and property. While it is common to think about what is mine in yours when the marriage is going great; however, when a marriage fails, divorcing couples often think otherwise. Whether it is separate property or marital property, it is important to understand what issues might come up and what mechanisms you can use to resolve these problems.
While there are many important factors to consider, this can be broken into four issues. This first is the need to identify marital assets that are owned by both spouses. This means locating all accounts, investments, and property that is jointly owned or considered marital property. Next, once all property involved is assessed, the property will need to be categorized as marital and non-marital property.
Once all the property involved in the divorce is identified, the next issue at hand is valuation. Assets and property will need to be assigned a value in order to determine how to divide everything between the divorcing spouses. The final issue is developing a plan to divide the property at hand. The laws of the state dictate this. However, if financial misconduct occurred, this could impact this process.
While it may seem simple and straightforward, property division is often a contentious divorce matter. Often, spouses do not see eye-to-eye. When this occurs, it is vital to ensure your rights are properly protected. This not only ensures that all the proper steps have been taken but also ensures that you get what is rightfully yours.