Indiana is an equitable distribution state. This means that property is divided during a divorce in a manner that is fair but not necessarily equal. That being said, there is a presumption that the marital estate should be divided equally among the two divorcing parties. In the majority of cases, the marital estate will be divided equally. However, the court can deviate from this standard and choose to award one spouse more of the marital estate than the other. This is generally because it would be unfair to split the marital estate down the middle. In this article, the Danville, IN divorce lawyer, Chris Arrington, will discuss why the court might decide to divide the marital estate unevenly.

Understanding the law

Indiana Code 31-15-7-5 states that a court should presume that an equal division of marital property between the spouses is reasonable. This presumption is rebuttable, however. The spouse who is arguing for an unequal distribution of marital assets must present evidence relating to the following factors:

• Each party’s financial condition before the marriage –  in some cases, one spouse enters the marriage with significantly greater assets than the other. If a spouse owned a business before the marriage, the court might award a larger share of that business to that spouse, especially if the other spouse did not contribute to the business in any way during the marriage.
• Property acquired before the marriage or through inheritance –  Indiana does not recognize separate property during a marriage. However, the court will consider how property owned before the marriage or received as inheritance was treated during the marriage. For example, if an inheritance was used to purchase real estate, that would be factored in when deciding how the asset might be divided.
• Each spouse’s contribution to the marital estate –  the court will consider all types of contributions to the marital estate, not just financial ones. A spouse who stayed at home to care for children might not have directly contributed money to the marital estate but they may have provided essential supports that allowed the other spouse to earn income.
• Each spouse’s ability to earn income in the future –  one spouse may have significantly higher earning potential than the other. In that case, the court might allocate more assets to the other spouse’s estate to balance out their financial earning capacity. This is especially relevant in situations where one spouse sacrificed career opportunities to support their family and raise their children.
• The economic circumstances of each spouse at the time of distribution –  the court can award a larger percentage of the marital estates to a spouse who is in a weaker financial position and might face significant challenges after the divorce. The court will consider health issues, lack of job skills or experience, or the need to care for young children.
• The dissipation of marital property –  if one spouse wasted or misused marital assets, the court may compensate the other spouse by awarding them a larger percentage of the remaining assets. For example, if one spouse gambled away a significant chunk of money, the court may award more of the marital estate to the spouse who did not.

Talk to a Danville, IN, Divorce Lawyer Today

Chris Arrington represents the interests of divorcing couples in Danville IN. Call our office today to schedule an appointment, and we can begin discussing your next steps immediately.