Property Division in Anoka County

Anoka County Divorce Attorney

When two people get divorced in Minnesota, the law requires that a judge makes a just and equitable division of the marital property. Since Minnesota is a no-fault divorce state, it won't matter which spouse is responsible for the breakdown of the marriage; the judge still has the responsibility of dividing the property in a fair and equitable fashion. A just and equitable division is one that's meant to be fair considering the couple's circumstances, but it's not necessarily equal.

When dividing the marital property, the Minnesota courts will evaluate the following factors:

• The length of the marriage
• Any prior marriages
• The age, health, occupation, sources of income of each spouse, and the amount
• Employability, liabilities, needs, and income of each spouse
• The contribution each spouse has made in the acquisition, preservation, appreciation, or depreciation of the value of the marital property, and
• The contribution of either spouse as a homemaker.

Divorcing couples don't have to have a judge decide on how their property is distributed, divorcing couples reach out of court settlements all the time. If you're going through a divorce in Anoka County, you and your spouse can agree to divide your marital property however you want. At Brevik Law, our Anoka County divorce lawyer always recommends settling if at all possible, this way you can control the outcome of your case and not leave it up to a judge who doesn't have insight into your relationship with your soon-to-be ex.

Dividing Marital Property & Debts

There are two types of marital property: real and personal. Real property consists of anything having to do with land such as homes, vacation properties, cabins, and land, whereas personal property is everything else such as bank accounts, automobiles, retirement accounts, jewelry, collectibles etc.

When it comes to divorce, there is marital property and non-marital property. Marital property consists of everything that was acquired during the marriage. Non-marital property by contrast is property that the spouses acquired separately prior to the marriage.

Aside from dividing marital assets, the courts have to divide marital debts too. The judge will have to decide if the debts are joint or sole, and even if a debt was incurred during the marriage, the judge will determine if that debt benefited one party and in effect, can make one party responsible for repaying it; for example, if one party paid used a credit card to pay for their Lasik eye surgery, then the party that received the surgery may be responsible for paying the debt. When it comes to deciding how to allocate debt, Minnesota judges have a lot of latitude.

If you are getting a divorce, we urge you to contact an Anoka County divorce lawyer from Brevik Law and to take advantage of our free consultation where we can go over property division in more detail and answer any questions that you have.