My spouse and I have accumulated a large amount of property during our marriage. When we divorce, how will the property be divided?
Overview of property division
Marital assets and liabilities will be divided depending on the individual spouses’ circumstances, however there is general information about how Florida addresses property division.
Assets may include items like household furniture, cars and savings accounts. It can also include enhancements or upgrades to property, like renovations for example, interspousal gifts, retirement plans and pension plans. Liabilities may include credit card debt, mortgages and other loans.
Assets and liabilities do not include property acquired before the marriage, non-interspousal gifts or inheritances they received or income derived from non-marital assets.
The court will decide how to divide the property equitably. This means that the court will divide the assets and liabilities fairly, but it may not always mean that they are divided exactly equally.
Factors and next steps
In determining how to divide the property equitably, the court may consider several factors. These include each spouse’s contribution to the marriage, the length of the marriage, interruptions in their careers or education, their economic circumstances and any intentional waste or destruction of the assets.
It’s important for each spouse to consider their own financial plans after the property is divided. For example, it may be necessary to create a new budget, decide whether they want to purchase or rent a new place to live and consider any retirement account or savings account contributions that need to be changed.
An experienced family law attorney can provide guidance and advice about property division.