Dividing assets in divorce

A Wisconsin resident contemplating divorce may have many questions about the division of marital assets. Wisconsin is a community property state, meaning both spouses are considered to own all marital property equally. When marital property is divided upon divorce, a 50-50 split is the standard, regardless of each spouse’s individual financial situation. So what does marital property include?

Essentially, marital property consists of all assets and income acquired by one or both spouses during the marriage. It includes things like bank accounts, investments, retirement plans, business assets, stock options, real estate, and vehicles, regardless of whether title to the property is in the name of one or both spouses. Property owned by either spouse before marriage generally is not considered marital property unless it was commingled with marital assets. For example, if one spouse owned a home prior to the marriage and put the other spouse on the title after marriage, the home would be considered marital property and subject to division in divorce.

Certain assets acquired by one spouse during the marriage also may be considered that spouse’s separate property, provided the separate property was not commingled with marital assets. These include a gift received by one spouse from a third party, money or property inherited by the spouse, and damages awarded to the spouse for pain and suffering in a personal injury action. In some cases, any increase in the value of separate property during the marriage may be deemed part of the marital estate subject to division, particularly if the increase was due to improvements made using marital assets.

Finally, the marital estate also includes debts incurred by either spouse during the marriage. Just as each spouse receives an equal share of the marital assets upon divorce, the couple’s debts also are divided between the parties. Rather than let the court decide who gets what in a divorce, many couples opt to pursue an out-of-court settlement with respect to the division of marital assets and debts.

Source: Huffingtonpost Divorce, “Understanding how assets get divided in divorce“, Jeff Landers, June 14, 2013