How Are Assets Divided in a Pennsylvania Divorce?
When married couples divorce, one of the biggest concerns that they will have to navigate and figure out together is how to split their assets. If the couple cannot agree on a resolution, their assets will be assessed by the court and divided according to state law.
How is marital property divided?
Pennsylvania law uses equitable distribution to divide a couple’s accumulated property, earnings and debts. Under this principle, the couple’s assets will be divided in a manner that is just and fair, but not necessarily equal.
For a court to determine a fair distribution of marital property, they will consider a variety of factors, including:
- Each spouse’s income and employability
- Each spouse’s age, health and education
- Each spouse’s homemaking contributions
- Each spouse’s economic circumstances
- Their length of marriage
- Their child custody order
What will happen to my non-marital property?
Since non-marital property pertains to assets that each spouse has gained before their marriage, it will generally remain separate and not be subject to property division. Some examples of non-marital assets are:
- Property owned before marriage
- Inheritance acquired before or during the marriage
- Any gift given to their spouse during the marriage
- Any other property excluded on a valid prenuptial or postnuptial agreement
However, if your non-marital funds have been mixed with a marital fund at any point in your marriage, it will become commingled assets. This means that your non-marital asset will become a marital asset.
How is debt divided?
Any marital debt that you or your spouse has gained during marriage will be subject to a fair division. This will include home mortgages, medical loans, car loans and joint credit cards debts. On the other hand, any debt gained by either spouse before marriage or after divorce will remain a separate debt.
Things will get better
Divorce can be a challenging process to go through alone. However, by learning about how property division works, you can become more familiar with the process and embrace your divorce proceedings with ease.