What to Know About Equitable Property Division in a Boston Divorce

If you are ending your marriage, you must prepare yourself to make hard decisions. No matter how long your marriage has been, you and your spouse may have joint assets, property, and accounts. Also, you may have kids. But as you decide to divorce, you and your spouse have probably stopped working to support each other. Maybe you supported your spouse when they went to school to pursue a career. Such things can affect how you address issues such as property division, child custody, alimony, and child support in a divorce. Marital property or property that you and your spouse acquired during your marriage is divided equitable or fairly. A Boston divorce attorney will protect your interests and make sure you get what you rightfully deserve.

Understanding Equitable Distribution

Equitable property division means dividing property fairly or justly. This does not mean a 50/50 division. Rather, it means a fair property division.

Assets are categorized into marital and separate property in a divorce. Usually, marital assets include property obtained by a couple during their marriage, no matter the spouse who acquired it. The family house is a good example of a marital property. Eve if one spouse bought the family house, this will be considered a marital asset. Meanwhile, separate property includes gifts, inheritances, and other assets acquired before the marriage.

Equitable distribution applies to marital assets such as investment accounts, bank accounts, the family house, furniture, cars, and other property.  To divide property equitably in a divorce, family courts will take into consideration major factors such as the length of the marriage, the contributions of every spouse to the marriage, how and when a spouse acquired the assets, and the type of property acquired. From there, courts will fairly distribute the property between spouses. For example, if one spouse gets the family house, the other spouse might retain other assets to ensure a fair arrangement. Also, the courts may take into account the existence of a prenuptial or postnuptial agreement that the couple created.  As long as these agreements are entered into legally, they can supersede equitable distribution.

Dividing property equitably has many benefits. with this option, both spouses get a fair share of their property. If one spouse has been the provider for the family and the other spouse stayed home with the kids, the majority of assets would been bought with money the working spouse earned. But the homemaker would still get a fair share of property in a divorce.