North Carolina requires divorce courts to equally distribute all marital and divisible property. An equitable distribution is not necessarily a 50/50 split but a division the court considers fair to both parties, considering all the circumstances of the case. Here are five things you need to know about equitable distribution in North Carolina.
1: Only Marital and Divisible Property is Equitably Divided
The divorce court won’t divide all your property, but only your marital and divisible property. Under North Carolina law, marital property is any property acquired by either spouse or both spouses during the marriage but before the separation. Divisible property is defined as:
- Any change in the value of your marital property occurring since the separation.
- All property acquired after the separation as a result of work done before the separation is divisible property. For example, if one spouse earns commissions or bonuses before the separation but receives the payment after the separation, this is divisible property.
- Passive income from marital property, including interest.
- Passive changes in marital debt, including increases and decreases.
The court will not divide your separate property, which is defined as any property either spouse brought into the marriage. However, separate property can sometimes become marital property.
2: Separate Property Doesn’t Always Stay Separate
Separate property can change into marital property under some circumstances, including:
- If the property is put in a joint account with the other spouse.
- If the property is retitled in the name of both spouses.
- If the property is commingled with marital property to purchase stocks.
Anything that commingles separate and marital property can transform separate property into marital property. Whether separate property has become marital property can be debated, so your divorce lawyer may need to argue this point in court.
3: The Court Will Divide Your Property Equally If It Considers That Fair
“Equitable” doesn’t always mean “equal,” but that doesn’t mean the court will necessarily divide your property unequally. Under North Carolina law, the court’s default course of action is to divide the net value of your marital and divisible property equally. The court will only deviate from this plan if it concludes that an equal division would not be fair or equitable.
4: There Are Several Factors the Court Will Consider
Factors the court will consider in deciding whether an equal division would be equitable include:
- Each spouse’s income, property, and debts.
- Any support obligations from an earlier marriage, such as alimony or child support.
- The length of the marriage and the age and health of both spouses.
- The custodial parent’s need for the family home.
- Any pension or retirement income that either spouse expects to receive.
- The contribution each spouse made to acquiring the property.
- Anything either spouse did to facilitate the other spouse’s education.
- Tax consequences of owning the property.
- Anything either spouse did to develop or neglect the property.
5: Fault Is Not Relevant to Equitable Distribution
Marriages often end because of some misdeed by either spouse, such as adultery or domestic violence. Even though your spouse’s fault may be tremendously emotionally relevant to you, it is irrelevant to equitable distribution. The court will not grant you a larger share of the marital property because your partner cheated. However, the court may grant you a larger share because your partner wasted or misused your marital property. Talk to a skilled divorce lawyer for more information about how the court will determine equitable distribution.
Contact a North Carolina Divorce Lawyer Today
Greene Wilson & Styron is a trial law firm serving New Bern, North Carolina. If you are facing a divorce in New Bern or anywhere in Pamlico or Craven County, contact the experienced lawyers at Greene Wilson & Styron immediately.