Dividing Your Assets and Debts During Divorce

If you have property and/or debts, you or the Court must decide who gets what. 

If you and your spouse voluntarily agree about how to divide your property, put your agreement in writing, and sign and notarize the Agreement, the Court will almost always respect your decisions. If you leave decisions to the Court, the Court first determines what belongs to each party as separate property, which property is marital property, and which things are hybrid property (partly marital property and partly separate property). Retirement accounts funded during the marriage are ordinarily treated as marital assets. 

A long list of factors can be considered in deciding what distribution of marital and hybrid property would be equitable (fair but not necessarily equal). The factors include the contributions of each party to the family and to the acquisition of property and debts, the duration of the marriage, the ages and physical and mental condition of the parties, dissipation of marital property for a non-marital purpose (for example, gifts to a lover), and tax consequences. 

If you have substantial wealth to divide, involving a certified divorce financial analyst might be a smart move. Getting some advice from an attorney about your rights, your responsibilities, your risks, and what you can reasonably expect is also a good idea. After you have gathered some information and advice, working with a mediator may be the best way to develop an equitable Property Settlement Agreement.

 

The author is a Professional Family Mediator certified by the Virginia Supreme Court. She is not an attorney. This article is for informational purposes only. Nothing here should be construed as legal advice. More information is available at fairfaxmediator.com.