The dissolution of marriage brings about many changes for all involved. Deciding who gets what as far as assets, finances, and property can often be the most stressful and difficult part of the entire process. Property is defined as something that a person legally owns. When two people enter into a marriage, many of their assets and personal items become
seen as jointly owned under the law. Due to this fact, choosing who takes what or who has how much is a heavily debated issue between spouses. If divorces are anything but amicable, issues such as these are extremely complicated and can cause problems and very drawn out dissolution processes.
Specific divorce laws state that in a marriage there is what’s known as community and separate property. Community property being jointly owned by both parties. These things are often split up or decided upon by each spouse or the courts, in terms of who is to obtain them in a divorce settlement. Separate property is property that a spouse owns separately from the other spouse. This property division falls under a few common points. If the property was owned by the spouse prior to the marriage, then that property was obtained by a spouse individually, either as a gift or inheritance.
When a spouse has separate property, that property is excluded from the division of property during a divorce. This being said, significant proof must be shown and fall under the aforementioned criteria in order for it to be left out of the division of assets in a divorce. Documentation such as house deeds, inheritance papers, and legal certificates are great ways to easily prove ownership. Any bills or obligations prior to the marriage, are considered separate and are never tied to both spouses, just as with anything incurred after the divorce process has been started.
Community property is anything that is jointly owned by both spouses. This applies to anything purchased by both spouses during the time of marriage, regardless of who’s name is on the property. Spouses will typically split these things evenly upon dissolution.
At MyDivorcePapers.com, we help anyone looking to file for divorce, especially with matters such as these. Our qualified staff is here to help and to assist in the filing process. Making this an easy transition for all is what we aim to do.