Disagreements about what to do with your personal property can quickly complicate a Florida divorce. Spouses often have trouble seeing eye-to-eye about what to do with their retirement account, houses and other major assets.
It is common for spouses to intensely disagree about which assets they should divide in the divorce proceedings or how to do so fairly. Do you have to split everything you own in a Florida divorce, or is there some property that you don’t have to share with your spouse?
You can protect your separate property in a Florida divorce
Only your marital property is technically subject to division under Florida law. Either spouse could still have valuable separate property that they do not have to divide with their ex.
The items that you purchased during your marriage and income that you earned will generally be marital property that you have to split. However, any assets you owned outright prior to marriage may remain your separate property. Additionally, what you received as a gift or an inheritance may also remain separate property unless you can mingle those assets with household resources.
If you have a marital agreement with your spouse, that contract might also designate some of your property as separate if you divorce. Otherwise, anything acquired or earned while you remained married will generally be subject to division if you litigate your divorce. Determining what is separate property can be an important starting point for property division negotiations.
You can make your own arrangements with an uncontested divorce
You do not have to worry about what a judge will decide to do with your biggest asset and wait for the courts to make the major decisions for your family.
You and your ex can negotiate through your attorneys, collaborate on a settlement or attend mediation to resolve your property division matters outside of court. If you can reach an agreement about who keeps what and also how to divide your debts, then you can proceed with an uncontested divorce based on the terms that you set yourselves.
Learning the basics of property division in a Florida divorce can help you know what to expect after you file.