EQUITABLE DISTRIBUTION

Divorcing spouses are understandably eager to know how their property and debts will be divided.  “Equitable distribution” is the procedure by which the court divides and distributes marital property, marital debts, and divisible property between spouses.     

“Marital” property” and “marital debts” are property and debts that are acquired between the date of marriage and the date of separation.   

“Separate property” is property that is either acquired prior to marriage or through inheritance or gift from a third party.  Gifts between spouses during the marriage, however, are generally considered marital unless a contrary intent is stated when the gift is made.  Your separate property remains your own property. Your spouse has no claim in your separate property and the court cannot distribute your separate property.

“Divisible property” consists of several limited categories of property acquired after you and your spouse separate.  Examples include passive increases or decreases in the value of marital property, interest earned on marital bank accounts, and bonuses or commissions which are the result of efforts during the marriage and before the date of separation.

Under equitable distribution, items of marital property and debts and divisible property must be valued before they can be distributed between the spouses.  Valuation of property and debts is a critical part of the equitable distribution process, and certain assets are harder to value than others.  Horack Talley family law attorneys are skilled in selecting and using the right experts, such as accountants, business evaluators and appraisers, to help determine the value of your marital estate.

An equal division and distribution of property and debts is presumed to be equitable in North Carolina - thus the term “equitable distribution”.  In certain cases, however, the court can distribute more or less than one-half of the marital estate to either spouse based on “distributional factors”.  If distributional factors exist, the court may distribute the marital estate in a more equitable fashion if the court feels that a 50/50 distribution is inequitable.  Our family law attorneys will explore the facts of your case to determine whether you are entitled to seek a greater share than 50 percent of the net marital estate.

There may be exceptions to the foregoing rules which apply to your case.  If so, we will explain those exceptions for you and how they may affect your equitable distribution claim.

Horack Talley family law attorneys are all well versed in the area of equitable distribution.  We will use the right experts and conduct investigations and analyses in order to identify, value and equitably divide your marital estate between you and your spouse.  Our family law attorneys will vigorously work to obtain an equitable division of the marital and divisible property and debts for you.