Over the course of your marriage, you and your spouse likely acquired a considerable amount of property. From major purchases like your house and vehicles to smaller assets like furniture and electronics, you share ownership of a variety of bits and pieces. Now that you are divorcing, you may understandably have concerns about who will get what.
Property division can have contentious aspects in some cases, and wanting to get through the process as easily and as quickly as possible is likely a goal for you. If you and your soon-to-be ex-spouse can work together, you may have the ability to create a division agreement outside of court that a judge could approve. If not, the court may decide how to divvy up your assets.
Equitable distribution
If the court does have to determine who will maintain ownership of certain property, state laws will come into play. Georgia, like the majority of other states, follows equitable distribution or equitable division laws. Under these laws, the court will divide marital assets based on what is the fairest outcome. Some elements that could help a judge determine what is fair include:
- The needs of you and your spouse
- The length of your marriage
- What each of you contributed financially to the marriage and household
These and other factors show that, like all marriages, some inequality exists between the spouses. One spouse may have earned more than the other or have had better employability. As a result, splitting everything 50-50 would likely leave one spouse at a greater disadvantage. Considering the fairness of the division allows for the consideration of how each party is likely to get on financially after the divorce.
Knowing what you want
You can prepare for the property division proceedings by doing an inventory of your marital assets and determining what you want and what you feel willing to part with. By knowing this information, you may be able to offer a compromise to your spouse before going to court.
If the issue still goes to court, you may want to gain more information on your legal rights and options and how you could fight for specific assets of which you may want to maintain ownership. This process could have a lengthy duration, but knowing upfront what you are willing to part with may prove useful.