A common question we get about splitting up “stuff” is: Do we each get half of the marital assets? Florida law says that the starting point for dividing marital property, assets, and liabilities is 50-50, but 1) there are many exceptions to that law, and 2) individual assets and liabilities sometimes cannot be divided. Consider this typical situation:
Item Husband Wife
House and Mortgage -$50,000
Joint Bank Account $2,500 $2,500
H’s Car and Debt -$2,000
W’s Car and Debt -$2,000
401(k) $100,000
Credit Card -$3,500
Totals -$3,000 $50,500
To make this an equitable distribution of marital property, a shifting from Wife to Husband of $23,750.00 would have to occur, but the only liquid asset in her column is the joint bank account, and shifting that to the Husband would still leave him shortchanged by $21,250.00. If she wrote him a check for that amount, the marital property division would be equal, but where is she to get that money from? Some retirement plans can be divided among spouses without penalty or taxes, but that is not always available. Houses can be sold and the proceeds divided, but here the parties would have to come to the closing with $50,000.00. She could be required to pay alimony to the Husband. She may be required to pay some of his debt, but that would still leave a large disparity, and if she didn’t pay, only the Husband’s credit would be affected. This problem of how to divide marital property requires creativity.
For more information about marital property division and your divorce, call the Men’s Rights Law Firm at 1-866-995-0166 or 239-829-0166 today.