Our experienced Rochester divorce lawyers can provide guidance when dividing marital assets. Contact our lawyer today for a free legal consultation.
One of the most complex aspects of a divorce is dividing marital assets. You will need an experienced New York division of assets lawyer by your side to assist you through this process and make sure you are receiving a fair deal. Contact our office today to schedule a free consultation.
Dividing Marital Assets | Marital Property
Marital property is defined as any debt or asset that accumulated during the course of the marriage. The marriage is defined as beginning on the date that you get married and it ends on the date that either party files for divorce. Sometimes there will be a separation agreement that precedes filing for divorce. In these cases, in the separation agreement, the date that the marital property stopped accumulating can be agreed upon.
Download Our FREE Family Law Guide
Dividing Marital Assets | Equitable Distribution
Marital property is divided equally between the spouses. Although the court is not obligated or required to divide it equally, that’s generally what happens. Sometimes certain facts and circumstances exist that make it more just to give one spouse more of the property than the other. However, rule of thumb generally is that each spouse is going to get pretty much the same amount out of the marital value.
Dividing Marital Assets | Separate Property
Separate property is property that accumulated either before the start of the marriage, or after the beginning of a divorce action. Sometimes separate property is acquired during the course of the marriage but which the other spouse has no claim to. For instance, if they receive an inheritance and somebody left the money to them, that money is theirs, separate and distinct from marital property, and they get to keep that on their own. In these instances, they should be careful not to commingle or intermix that property with martial property. If that happened, the court very well could say that separate property was turned into marital property and they could end up owing inheritance to their spouse that otherwise they would not have had to give to them.
Contact our Rochester divorce lawyers today to set up a free initial consultation.