Queens Divorce Attorney Bruce Feinstein, Esq. Works with Clients on Dividing Marital Property and Debt
Queens, NY (PRWEB) July 30, 2014 -- During a divorce proceeding, couples often have questions regarding the separation of their property. But they may not also think of the debts they and their spouse have, and how those debts will be split during the divorce. A person’s liability for his or her spouse’s debts is dependent on the state in which they were married. Bruce Feinstein, a New York divorce attorney, is taking steps to explain the division of debt and property in New York.
“The first key point about divorce and debt is that New York is an equitable distribution state,” says Mr. Feinstein. “This means that the spouses’ property is split in an equitable way by them or by the court after reviewing what each spouse brought into the marriage and what they need post-divorce.”
That division is not always equal; the emphasis is on a “fair” division of property. Couples can work to divide their property themselves, often with the help of a New York divorce attorney. If needed, the court will also mediate the division of assets to resolve any property disputes between spouses.
“The second key point to dividing property is understanding marital property,” explains Mr. Feinstein. Marital property is property acquired during the marriage, while separate property includes property owned prior to the marriage, and other assets like an inheritance or personal gift. The definitions can become more complicated in certain cases; for example, if one spouse owned a home prior to the marriage but the spouse paid for updates to the home and increased its property value, that increase can count as marital property.
The third point to know when dividing property in divorce is properly defining the property and the marriage. “Every divorce case is different, so it’s important for couples to understand how to properly categorize their property and to look into the factors that define their marriage,” says Mr. Feinstein.
Types of property commonly include real property like a home, personal property like clothing, and intangible property like benefits and debts. Some couples don’t see debt as property, but in the eyes of the court it has the same importance during the divorce proceeding. The debt will need to be categorized as either marital or personal, and then given to one or both spouses depending on certain factors. These can include how long the marriage lasted and the income and health of each spouse. The court also takes an approach that includes reviewing the past, present, and future of each spouse. It can review how each spouse played a role in contributing to the accrual of marital assets over time; their present circumstances, such as their jobs and their custody of children; and their future lives after the divorce, like lost health insurance or future tax losses.
The court can then go about diving the spouses’ marital property once it has reviewed all the factors and marital property. Some divisions will be easy, while others may be complicated. If an asset is difficult to divide, then the court may award a payment to one spouse to balance out the uneven distribution. And although New York is a no-fault divorce state, a spouse can receive less marital property if he or she wasted martial assets. Couples facing questions about their own property and how to split it during a divorce can work with an experienced bankruptcy lawyer in New York. And more information about the division of marital property can be found in the New York Consolidated Statutes, Article 13 of Domestic Relations, Section 236.
The Law Offices of Bruce Feinstein, Esq. has nearly two decades of experience in divorce law, helping clients and families resolve their issues and move forward with their lives. Visit feinsteindivorcelaw.com for more information or call (718) 475-6039 to reach the New York office.
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Bruce Feinstein, The Law Offices of Bruce Feinstein, Esq., PC, http://www.feinsteindivorcelaw.com, +1 (718) 475-6039, [email protected]
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