There are many reasons a marriage might end in divorce, and most of them involve some unpleasant emotions. However, divorce itself is a legal process, and the bulk of the work in that process is often devoted to property division. This is the process within divorce in which the parties decide on how to divide their assets, including bank accounts, their home, personal items and more.
Most states, including Kentucky, follow equitable property division rules which means that property is divided in a way that is fair or equitable. Equitable property division is largely based on the discretion of the family law court and is determined on a case-by case basis. It is also important to keep in mind that only marital property is divided which includes money and property acquired during marriage.
There are factors, however, that divorcing spouses should be aware of some of the factors the court may consider when dividing property. The family law court may consider the duration of the marriage; which spouse has primary custody of any minor children; the financial needs and liabilities of each of the spouses; the financial condition of each spouse and the earning potential of the spouses; what each spouse contributed to the marital property; non-monetary contributions to the family; the age, health and needs of the spouses; any support obligations of the spouses; and the value of their separate property, as well as other factors as well.
Property division is an important part of the divorce process. As a result, divorcing couples should understand the process and how property division decisions are made.
