Important facts about property division during a divorce in Traverse City

Traverse City, MI – People who are going through a divorce should always be mindful of the fact that they will have to deal with various issues related to property division. This tends to be the most time consuming part of most divorce cases, especially if the couple was married a long time, has large amounts of shared assets or a high net worth. Some divorces with lots of property to divide can last several months or even years. While a lawyer should always be retained during a divorce case to provide more specific advice, here are a few points about property division in Michigan that are relevant to divorce cases.

Settlement agreements are usually best

Many of the problems and disputes related to property division in a divorce case can be bypassed with a settlement agreement. This means that the couple was able to work with a mediator to create an agreement that addresses the major aspects of their case, and it can be presented to a court for approval without formal hearings.

Property is divided into two different categories

Michigan law recognizes that property can be acquired during the marriage, but people will also have their own separate property that was obtained before the marriage or inherited. These are categorized as marital and individual property respectively. A person can generally keep their individual property, but marital property will be subject to division during the divorce. There is also the possibility that disputes can arise in situations where it is unclear whether a piece of property or asset is entirely owned by the individual or marital.

State law says that marital property division needs to be fair

A family judge will come up with a way of dividing the property based on their conception of fairness. This can be close to an even split of all of the marital property, but judges are allowed to consider many factors related to the couple’s finances and other related matters to come up with a property split that will work in each case. This tends to be closer to an equitable distribution than an equal split of the marital property and assets.

Family attorneys are available in Traverse City

Neumann Law Group is a firm that has extensive experience with all matters related to family law issues such as divorces, child custody disputes, and support payments. Their lawyers can provide more specific advice during an initial consultation.

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Firm contact info:

Neumann Law Group

300 E Front St. #445, Traverse City, MI 49684

231-221-0050