Even though you may know others who have gone through a divorce, no two are the same. It is essential to educate yourself on the issues addressed in a divorce, one of which is the distribution of your property.
Splitting things fairly is the aim of the court. While this may not always keep you and your spouse happy, it is what the statute deems as reasonable. Discover a bit more about how the Michigan courts handle deciding who gets what in a divorce.
What is equitable?
Equitable distribution is the method the courts use to decide who gets what. It does not mean the spouses get an even or equal amount of property. The court looks at the totality of the marital situation and uses that information to figure out a fair split. Some of the factors that impact this include:
- Income history and projections of each spouse
- Marital longevity
- Number of children
- Individual assets and debts
- One spouse’s career sacrifice for the other
Is all property the same?
Divorce splits only your marital property. Anything you or your spouse owned before your marriage stays out of the mix. The court may want to know how much each spouse has in separate property when determining who gets what, but those assets do not get split. In an equitable distribution situation, the judge may give a higher stake in the marital property to a spouse who has the least amount of separate property to fall back on.
Only you and your spouse can decide how you want to handle your divorce. Keeping a level and reasonable head may prove difficult, but if you succeed, you may come out of the process with a less hostile view.
