Property Distribution During Divorce

Marital liabilities and assets are supposed to be divided as close to 50/50 as possible when you decide to get divorced. With property distribution you need good representation or you’ll have to worry about the fair market value the judge attaches to your property. Remember, the judge isn’t being paid to act in your best interest. At Carman, Bevington & Finegan we will act in your best interest and we have experience on both sides of a property distribution case.

Should I let the Judge Decide

You can let the judge decide but it’s risky, and once they bang the gavel their decision is binding. If you’re keeping the house and the appraisal comes in too high, you might owe your spouse an amount greater than 50% of what it’s truly worth. If you’re walking away from the house and the appraisal comes in too low you could end up getting less than 50% of what the house could actually sell for on the open market. To help you thought this process you need an experienced trial attorney to help make sure the court’s perception of the property is favorable to you.

How Should You Proceed

The first step in the property division process is to identify martial assets, non-marital assets and liabilities. Non-marital assets and liabilities include anything that either spouse owned or any debt they had prior to the day they were married. Non-marital assets may also include any inheritance that either spouse received. Once all of that information has been calculated we then begin the process of helping you value and distribute the marital assets.

At Carman, Bevington & Finegan, we’re driven by a desire to protect our clients as we would want to be protected in a similar situation. We don’t want to deplete all of your assets by extending your property distribution proceedings. We will do our best to help you take those first steps on the road back to happiness.