Property Division

In the break-up of a marriage Property Division is always an issue which should be considered. Property division is usually accomplished after considering the “fair market value” of the property less debts owed.

Marital property which may be divided includes real estate, personal property including household goods, motor vehicles, cash, investments, retirement accounts, life insurance policies, and marital debts.

“Separate” or “Premarital” or “Gifted” or “Inherited” property sometimes comes in to play when the parties are trying to accomplish Property Division and sometimes a piece of property may be composed of several different “kinds” of property. An example of this might occur if one of the parties used pre-marital money as down payment on the home where the parties have resided during their marriage. Assuming that they have used marital funds to pay down the mortgage or have expended marital effort in improving the property, the “equity” in the property may be a “mix” of equity created by non-marital (pre-marital) and marital contributions.