Frequently Asked Questions (“FAQ”)
on Equitable Distribution of Property
Professional Lawyer Provides Answers on Equitable Distribution
McGraw Law P.C. provides answers to questions that many clients ask an attorney when marriages end and there is division of assets. Do you have more questions about equitable distribution of property? Call McGraw Law P.C. today at (540) 904-5704 or message us online.
Q: What is Equitable Distribution of Property?
A: Most states use “equitable distribution” when dividing marital property as a result of the dissolution of marriage. Instead of a strict fifty-fifty split, in which each spouse receives exactly one-half of the marital or separate property, equitable distribution looks at the financial situation that each spouse will be in after the termination of the marriage. While equitable distribution is more flexible, it is more difficult to predict the actual outcome, since there are various weighed factors. Factors considered in equitable distribution include:
- Earning power of the spouses
- Separate property of the spouses
- One spouse having done all the work to get the property
- The value that one spouse contributed as the home-maker for the family
- Economic fault of one spouse in wasting and dissipating marital property
- Duration of the marriage
- Age and relative health of the spouses
- The responsibility for providing for children of the marriage
- Spousal abuse or marital infidelity
