Property Division & Equitable Distribution in PA

The process of separating two people’s lives during a divorce can be a complicated one. Beyond the emotional side of things and the adjustments to everyday life, there’s the matter of splitting up the assets, debts and property you accrued during the marriage. As the experienced, passionate and people-oriented attorneys at Ruppert Law Firm LLC, we are here to guide Pennsylvania divorcees through the asset division process. We can help you make sense of it all and ensure that you get your fair share along the way.

In a Pennsylvania divorce, marital property is divided equitably. Equitable division doesn’t mean that things will be split 50-50; it means that the share of the property each spouse ends up with will reflect their needs and financial contributions to the marriage. An equitable division of marital property could be a 60-40 split, 70-30, or any other ratio that the spouses agree to or the judge determines to be fair and reasonable.

Marital property refers to the assets, debts and property that a couple acquires while married. Only marital property is divided among spouses in a divorce. Their separate property, or the things they had before marriage, will remain solely theirs to keep. Things acquired during marriage, such as inheritances, gifts and family heirlooms, can sometimes also be considered separate property.

Asset division is determined by a variety of factors, including the following:

• The duration of the marriage
• The age and health of each spouse
• The contributions of each spouse to the marriage
• The earning capacity of each spouse
• Whether there are any custody arrangements
• Whether there was any marital misconduct
• Whether there are any tax considerations

Valuable assets that tend to be important during the property division phase include:

• The family home
• Vacation homes
• Investment properties and other real estate
• Retirement savings, such as 401(k)s or Roth IRAs
• Pensions
• Personal property, such as cars, furniture and artwork

Every married couple is different. At Ruppert Law Firm LLC, we can help you understand how these factors may impact your specific asset division situation. We will help you identify all your assets and create a strategy that protects what matters most to you.

At our firm, we collectively have decades of experience helping people resolve legal issues. We have helped numerous individuals navigate their divorces, including the property and asset division stage. Sean L. Ruppert, our principal attorney, has gone through a divorce himself, so he has been in your shoes. We are passionate about family law matters and will strive to achieve a fair outcome for you and your loved ones. People are our priority. We help them maintain balance and control over their lives and empower them to make decisions.

We will meet you where you are emotionally. If you need someone to reel you in, we can do that. If you need a zealous advocate to be your voice, we can do that, too.

If you are getting divorced, you need to know how it will affect your financial position and ability to keep affording your current lifestyle. Below are the answers to common questions that our clients have about their divorce cases.

In Pennsylvania divorces, the principle of equitable distribution governs property division and is guided by a judge’s assessment of fairness. This diverges from community property states, where a 50-50 split is standard. In Pennsylvania, distribution can be more flexible because fairness is the priority. Asset division considers factors such as the duration of the marriage, each spouse’s separate financial means and their individual contributions to the marriage.

This rule applies only to marital assets, which includes most – but not all – assets that the spouses acquired during the marriage. A nonmarital asset is something that one spouse owned before the marriage that never became intermingled with the other spouse’s property, such as a bank account with money that one spouse earned before the marriage and kept separate from the other spouse’s money throughout the marital relationship. Another form of nonmarital asset is a bequeathment or gift given specifically to one spouse only. Any nonmarital assets belonging to a spouse are theirs to keep.

If you’re considering a divorce and have concerns about dividing up your marital property, we are lawyers who are here to help. Contact us to arrange a consultation to get started. You can reach us by phone at 412-206-9474 or by completing an appointment request form online.