Florida Divorce Laws On Dividing Assets In The Event Of A Divorce

There are few events in life more important than when someone gets married for the first time. While most people do view their marriage as a life changing event, they seldom appreciate the legal significance of the marriage. When two people marry they form both a legally economic and social partnership. If the parties decide to dissolve the marriage without a prenuptial agreement in place a Florida family law court will step in and adjudicate the contested issues. For instance, Florida divorce law will dictate which parent will be the sole guardian of the children, visitation rights, and who gets control of specified marital assets. These are all very important issues which should not be taken lightly by either spouse. If a divorce is imminent you should contact a Tampa divorce lawyer for legal advice right away.

Under Florida divorce law, marital assets must be divided on an equitable basis. An equitable distribution is determined by the individual factors of each divorce filing. There are no definitive rules on equitable distribution, which may make the division of assets in a divorce unpredictable. However, a skilled Tampa divorce attorney could help protect your assets in a divorce by persuading a court to find the distribution of marital assets sought by his client is equitable.

Determining which assets are marital assets may require a lot of training and legal knowledge, which is best handled by a qualified Tampa divorce attorney. Generally, a marital asset is any money earned, asset purchased, or debt incurred by either spouse during the marriage. The earnings, assets, or debts do not need to be created jointly; if any one spouse accumulates any of the property during the marriage it will be deemed a marital asset. For instance, if one spouse bought a home from his personal earnings and put the title to the home in his name only it would still be considered a marital asset because it was acquired during the marriage. On the other hand, most assets acquired prior to marriage will not be deemed a marital asset, and thus not subject to an equitable distribution in the event of a divorce. For instance, if instead of during the marriage a spouse bought a home prior to the marriage the home will not be a marital asset. However, if a nonmarital asset increases in value due to the expenditure of marital funds the increase in value may be considered a marital asset. For example, if the home purchased by one spouse prior to a marriage was renovated using marital funds the increase in property value would be deemed a marital asset.

If you are going through a divorce the Tampa divorce lawyers at Florida Law Group may be able to help. We can explain the applicable Florida divorce laws to you and help plan a legal strategy to protect your interests. For more information or for a free consultation with a Tampa divorce attorney contact Florida Law Group today.