A women recently asked us a divorce question:
My husband has filed for divorce. We have been married almost 18 years , turbulent years. He is asking for half of what we have, is that likely?
The answer:
As a general rule the courts here in Georgia divide marital property equitably. There are two issues there, first what is marital property and what does equitably mean. Marital property is anything acquired during the marriage that is not a give or inheritance to one person alone, however, gifts or inheritance can be commingled and made to be marital property. Equitably, means fair in the mind of the judge or jury deciding how the property is going to be divided.
Marital property can be anything of value or any debt of the parties without regard for the name on the account or debt. If the debt or asset was acquired during the marriage in can be divided by the court. For example, if you have a 401-K in your name and he has a credit card in his name, the court could, if it was deemed fair to do so, give him part of your 401-K and make you responsible for a portion of of his credit card debt. As we stated earlier, an inheritance or gift is marital property if it was commingled, examples of how something can be commingled are depositing the asset into a joint bank account or spending the money on a joint asset such as the marital residence. Otherwise, you are not entitled to any portion of his inheritance nor would he be entitled to any that you might receive in the future. It might be important in your situation to note that inheritance may be considered when deciding the issue of alimony.
Equitable division is very subjective, the judge or jury may look at all issues surrounding the parties including their conduct in deciding what is fair. Thus, the ultimate answer to your question is, if the court believes it is fair, your assets might be split 50/50.
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