Property division issues may be at the forefront among concerns on the minds of divorcing couples. Property division is one of the challenges divorcing couples may be anticipating, and will have to face, but legal resources are at the ready to help guide them through the property division process.
Divorcing couples may have many questions concerning how their property will be divided. Answers to those questions can help guide them through the process. In Florida, the couple’s property will be divided fairly which does not necessarily mean the couple’s property will be decided in half. It will be divided according to the circumstances of the spouses and a variety of factors that are considered by the family law court during the divorce process.
The couple’s property will be placed in three different categories and each will be handled differently. The three categories of property are marital property, separate property and property that has been purchased with comingled funds. Generally, marital property is subject to division. During the equitable property division process, however, property division decisions may be made on a case-by-case basis. One example is a family home that may go to the spouse who has primary custody of the children. If the couple does not have children, the home may go to the spouse who bought it or it may need to be sold so the proceeds can be divided.
State laws, and the family law system, play an important role in the property division process so it is useful for divorcing couples to be familiar with he laws in their state. The greater familiarity they have with the property division process, the better outcome the divorcing spouses can negotiate to develop a property division settlement agreement that is best for them and that they can both live with.