Annapolis Marital Property Division Lawyer

Three categories of things are never marital property and are therefore not subject to division. They include things acquired by gift from a third-party, things acquired by inheritance, and things excluded by a written agreement. They also include things that can be traced to any of these things. So, as an example, if someone receives $10,000 as a gift from their aunt during their marriage, that money is not marital property and their spouse will not receive part of it in a divorce case. If the same person uses the money to buy a car for $10,000, the car is traceable to such money and is similarly not marital property.

Marital property includes all property acquired up until the date of divorce. Logically, that also includes anything that either party acquired during the separation period, and even during the trial. For this reason, you should be careful what you purchase during any period of separation and even during the pendency of a divorce case.

Financial accounts include all checking, savings, brokerage, investment and retirement accounts. At trial, the court will divide all financial accounts containing funds that were acquired or earned during the marriage. Sometimes accounts contain some funds that were deposited before the marriage and some funds that were deposited after the marriage, therefore such accounts may be partly marital and partly non-marital.

Division of retirement accounts occurs in the same way as other accounts except that they are more complicated. One reason is that the funds in some retirement accounts have not been subject to income tax and, therefore, their value is uncertain. A second reason is that financial institutions are usually prohibited from transferring retirement funds from one spouse to another without receiving a court order. Such a court order is sometimes called a Qualified Domestic Relations Order, or QDRO. Special skill is required to draft such an order.

Division of real property

Real property includes any property associated with land, including houses, condominiums, and empty lots. At trial, the court will divide the equity in real property if it finds that such equity was acquired or paid for during the marriage. Sometimes houses and other real property are paid for in part before the marriage and in part after the marriage. In such a case, the equity would be partly marital and partly non-marital.

Division of personal property

Personal property includes all tangible property that is not associated with the land. It includes all vehicles, furniture, and all items that people keep in their homes. At trial, the court may divide such items if the court finds that they were acquired and paid for during the marriage. Parties rarely dispute the division of small items such as clothes and dishes. However, they often dispute more expensive items such as vehicles and jewelry.

Monetary award

At trial, when dividing marital property, the court will usually not transfer title to the property. Therefore, each spouse will likely keep all property to which they have a title. The property that is titled jointly will usually be ordered to be sold and the proceeds divided. The court then must make the total division “fair”. To so, the court may grant a “monetary award.” A monetary award is a payment of money that the court orders one party to make to the other in order to adjust the amount of marital property that each party has and to make the total division fair.

In the course of determining the amount of a monetary award, the court must consider numerous factors. Such factors include:

• The contributions of each party to the well-being of the family.
• The value of all property interests of each party.
• The economic circumstances of each party.
• The circumstances that contributed to the estrangement of the parties.
• The duration of the marriage.
• The age of each party.
• The physical and mental condition of each party.
• How and when the specific marital property was acquired.
• The contribution by either party of non-marital property to the acquisition of real property.
• Any award of alimony.
• Any award of family use property.

Family use property

If the parties have a child that lived in their house during the marriage, and if one party receives custody, the court may grant to such party “use and possession” of the house for up to three years on the grounds that the house is “family use property.” The purpose of use and possession is to give the child additional stability by allowing the child to continue living in a home to which the child is accustomed. During such time, the court would refrain from dividing the house and would grant to the custodial parent exclusive right to live in the house with the child. The court may also order the other party to pay the mortgage. The court would likely order that, at the end of the use and possession period, the house be divided as normal.

Property agreements

Parties often try to reach a written agreement on how to divide marital property instead of allowing the court to divide it. Doing so has many advantages. It allows the parties to avoid the risk that the court will divide the property in a way that the parties do not want. It also allows the parties to save the time and expense associated with litigating their property dispute all the way to trial.

In general, parties can enter into two kinds of agreements in their divorce case. They are:

• Prenuptial agreement
• Separation agreement

A prenuptial agreement is one that the parties reach before they get married in order to establish their rights in the unfortunate situation that they later decide to get divorced. A separation agreement, on the other hand, is one that the parties reach when they are separating and anticipate obtaining a divorce. Both agreements often provide detailed terms related to alimony and the division of marital property. An attorney can be extremely valuable in negotiating and drafting such agreements.

In any divorce case in which property is being divided, both parties have the right to conduct discovery. Discovery is the process of compelling the other party to provide information that may help one’s case. Discovery can occur in several different ways, including with interrogatories, requests for documents, and depositions. Discovery can also include obtaining documents from outside sources like employers and financial institutions. Discovery can sometimes uncover information that the other party is trying to hide. In any divorce case involving division of property, discovery is extremely important because a lot of detailed information is required in order to make a persuasive case to the court.

When the court orders that marital property be divided a certain way, and when a party fails to comply, then, in order to enforce the property division, the other party may file a petition for contempt of court. Contempt of court is a finding that a party was court ordered to do something and failed to do it. When the court orders that a party is in contempt for failing to divide marital property, it will continue to hold them in contempt until they “purge” the contempt. In addition to requiring that they purge the contempt, the court may also impose other penalties. Such penalties may include paying the other party’s attorney fees.