Property settlement during divorce is always a very contentious issue. You and your spouse have likely mingled a lot of your assets, and even acquired new assets during marriage. You may have acquired joint debt and you may have otherwise combined your financial lives. All of this will have to be untangled when you separate and end your marital union. There are a number of different ways this can be done, depending on the situation.
How a Property Settlement is Determined
There are three main ways a property settlement can be determined:
- You and your spouse can agree on the division of all property and debts on your own and draft a settlement agreement, which the court will simply look over and approve. This out of court option can be less expensive and is preferable in many cases as it provides greater control to the people whose assets are actually at stake. However, it can be hard to agree on everything with someone from whom you are getting a divorce. As such, there are sources of help- like collaborative divorce coaches and mediators- who you can work with to facilitate you coming to an out of court agreement
- You and your spouse can submit the issue to arbitration. This is similar to going to court, except an independent third party arbitrator makes the decisions on what will happen instead of a judge. While an arbitrator doesn't have the full legal authority of the court behind him, as a judge would, his decision is still binding on you if you both agree to submit to binding arbitration. The major benefit of this method of dividing property is that it is private- the details or your assets and debts don't become court record
- You and your spouse can litigate the case. This is often the most expensive and time consuming method of dividing property, and will involve you each making formal arguments in front of a family court judge. The judge will then use the rules of your state (either community property or equitable distribution) to decide how things should be divided up fairly.
Getting Help
When dividing up property in a divorce, you should have a divorce lawyer on your side. Your attorney can help you to protect your legal rights and can assist you in making sure you get all that you are entitled to under the legal rules of your state during the process of ending your marriage.
