The purpose of a divorce is to terminate the parties’ marriage. In order to do that the parties and the court must decide how to handle the questions of custody and placement of the minor children and how to divide the property and debts of the parties. State laws presume each party is entitled to one half of the marital property and each party is responsible for one half of the marital debts. Non-marital property would be property inherited by one of the parties or given to just one of the parties by a third person and, if it has been kept separate it will remain with that person after the divorce. All the property of the parties is marital unless shown otherwise. Such things as pensions, bank accounts and stocks and bonds are marital property even if held in the name of only one of the parties. Property brought in to the marriage is still marital although depending on the length of the marriage and the nature of the property the court can decide to award it back to the party who had it before the marriage. Courts try to be fair to both parties and each party is responsible for making a full disclosure to the court and the other party of all assets and
The purpose of a divorce is to terminate the parties’ marriage. In order to do that the parties and the court must decide how to handle the questions of custody and placement of the minor children and how to divide the property and debts of the parties. State laws presume each party is entitled to one half of the marital property and each party is responsible for one half of the marital debts. Non-marital property would be property inherited by one of the parties or given to just one of the parties by a third person and, if it has been kept separate it will remain with that person after the divorce. All the property of the parties is marital unless shown otherwise. Such things as pensions, bank accounts and stocks and bonds are marital property even if held in the name of only one of the parties. Property brought in to the marriage is still marital although depending on the length of the marriage and the nature of the property the court can decide to award it back to the party who had it before the marriage. Courts try to be fair to both parties and each party is responsible for making a full disclosure to the court and the other party of all assets and