In Virginia, before we divide property in divorce, we classify it as either separate, marital, or hybrid. Separate property is just that – separate – so it is owned by only one party and it is not divided in divorce. Marital property, on the other hand, was either earned, purchased, or acquired during the marriage. ...
Is pre-marital property separate?
Real estate is easy. Either one or the other of you keeps it, in which case you refinance the mortgage to remove your spouse from liability, or you sell it and split the proceeds. There’s not a lot of options, so we can often cut to the chase pretty quickly. I want to keep the...
Equitable distribution is the fancy way we describe how property is divided in the Virginia divorce process. Under equitable distribution, the court looks at all a couple’s assets (the things that are worth money) and liabilities (yes, your debt gets divided, too!) and makes a determination about what each former spouse should take away from...