Serving You During The Marital Assets Division Process

A point of particular pride at Poole, Mensinger, Cutrona & Ellsworth-Aults, is our division of property practice. Dividing one household into two is the most significant material decision made in divorce. To be successful it must be accurate, detailed and acceptable to both sides. Nothing can be wrongfully included or excluded. It is not something incidental to the life awaiting both parties — it will be crucial to their future progress.

Over the years, Poole, Mensinger, Cutrona & Ellsworth-Aults, has earned the appreciation of clients and the respect of the other side for its skills in effecting fair divisions.

Definition of marital assets: Those assets that are acquired by a couple between the date of marriage to the date of separation.

What Equitable Distribution Requires

Delaware is an equitable distribution state. This means that the division is not 50-50, which splits everything down the middle, but rather a fair weighting of assets of debts. If one side gets the car, that side may also get the car payments. This is considered a more balanced way to divide assets, but involves greater attention to detail and more careful valuation.

The court will look at the entirety of your assets, including premarital assets, to decide to include. It will look at inherited contributions, earning capacity, your health status, your level of education, your ability to train for different work, plus the contributions each side has made to the marriage, whether you were the breadwinner or the homemaker. All these elements are examined and valued. With everything in the balance, you want sharp attorney representation able to provide cogent explanations for items that belong in or out of the calculation.

Successful Resolution Of Your Marital Property Division Matter

The recommended method for reaching fair division is usually to negotiate out of court. You arrive at numbers agreeable to both sides, and give it over to the court to finalize. The court will seldom balk at a proposed settlement so long as it appears to be fair and above-board, without evidence of coercion or fraud.

Our firm has assisted in hundreds of such successful settlements. We can help you with yours.

The Hidden Assets Question: Occasionally, one side will try to hide assets from the process. This is a mistake. Though the court works largely like an honor system, and though it is possible to forget a major asset like a 401(k) account, fraudulent actions can be costly. In the court instructions it plainly states that assets kept out of consideration may be awarded in their entirety to the other party.

Complex family assets require talented representation. Call the Wilmington marital assets division lawyers at Poole, Mensinger, Cutrona & Ellsworth-Aults, at 302-428-0100, or write to us using this convenient online form.