One question that many divorcing couples may have revolves around property division. While there are some laws that lay out what needs to be divided and what can be kept, it is usually up to the couple themselves to figure out what they will part with and what they will keep.
The first thing to understand is that property division is meant to be equal. Florida Legislature state that the only exception to this is when unequal distribution can be justified. It can usually be justified based on certain factors such as:
- How much one spouse contributed financially to the other over the course of the marriage
- How long the marriage lasted
- How much each spouse contributed to the marriage and household
- Whether or not the education opportunities or personal careers of either spouse was interrupted during the marriage
However, assets that do not follow under these exceptions are meant to be split equally among the partners. This can include vehicles, houses, rental areas, retirement benefits, vacation homes, pension plans, stock and more.
One other exception is personal items with sentimental value. If a person has a high emotional attachment to a piece of property, then they will not be forced to part with it because of property division. This is good news for many people who are concerned about losing important sentimental items in a divorce.
Once the sentimental and large items are dealt with, many people may find that the rest of the property division can actually pass by relatively smoothly.
