What You Need to Know About How Family Court Identifies Marital Property in a Divorce

If you are facing a divorce, one likely issue in your case is equitable division. The family court has the power to divide marital property. Marital property is the real and personal property that has been acquired by the parties during the marriage which is owned as of the date of filing, regardless of how legal title is held. There are some exceptions to this: inheritance, gifts (from a party other than the spouse), property acquired before the marriage, and property excluded by contract. There are other exceptions as well.

Steps to Divide Marital Property

In equitable division, identifying the marital property is generally thought of as the first step in dividing marital property. The steps are:

1. Identify the marital property, real and personal, to be divided by the parties;
2. Determine the fair market value of the property identified;
3. Identify the contributions, both direct and indirect, of each party in inquiring the marital property; and
4. Provide for an equitable division of the marital property.

Contact Us Today to Schedule a Case Review

It is important that you have a lawyer on your side that knows how to advocate for you and properly present evidence to the court to help identify what is and isn’t marital property, and why the marital property should be apportioned in a favorable manner for you. If you are going through a divorce and would like to discuss your case with a lawyer, please do not hesitate to call toll-free at (864) 582-0416 to set up a case review.