Divorce is a big process. While at its core it is the dissolution of a marriage and the breaking of legal bonds that tied two Florida residents together, a divorce requires its parties to address many other important legal matters. For example, pursuant to their divorce, an Okaloosa couple may have to settle the custody of their kids, financial matters related to alimony and child support, and make tough decisions on how to divide up their property.
If the parties to a divorce cannot come to terms regarding the disposition of their marital property, a court will step in and resolve to divide it up in an equitable way. Equitable distribution is based on the idea that a property settlement should be fair. It is important that readers remember that this does not necessarily mean that the parties will walk away from their marriage with equal portions of their collective marital assets.
When considering how to divide property, a Florida court will weigh many factors. It will assess the duration of the marriage as well as how the parties contributed to the marriage’s success. Both the contributions of wage-earning individuals and caregivers are considered during this process.
Also, a court will investigate whether one or both of the spouses engaged in wasteful spending or the intentional depletion of the marriage’s assets in anticipation of divorce. The attempt of a party to deplete their wealth to avoid giving up assets to their soon-to-be ex may be critically judged by a divorce court.
Other factors will play important roles in the individual property matters of divorcing parties. This post is offered as information only, which means that readers with questions about how their property will be affected during their divorces are asked to contact their family law attorneys.