Dividing Property

Property acquired by earnings during the marriage is marital property. It is irrelevant which spouse earned the money to acquire the property. Property put in joint names during the marriage is also marital property. Removing that property from joint accounts does not convert it to non-marital property.

Property from before the marriage that is kept separate is not marital property.

Property received by gift or inheritance during the marriage is not marital property.

The basic rule is that marital property is divided equitably (fairly). Generally this is as close to 50/50 as possible. This rule can be offset by a history of one spouse taking financial advantage of the other throughout the marriage, making the spouse bear an unfair burden and an equitable division unfair.

* remember that when fighting over stuff you lawyer costs you at least $150.00 per hour, to call them about a $15.00 lamp spent more than it was worth.