Equitable Division of Property Law and Legal Definition
An equitable division of property is made by a court in a decree of divorce or annulment, with consideration of the rights of each party and any children of the marriage. Equitable division does not mean the court must divide the property 50/50.
In determining an eqitable division of the property the court may consider, among others, the following factors:
* Fault in the breakup of the marriage
* Benefits the innocent spouse may lose due to the breakup of the marriage
* Disparity of earning power
* Health problems and age of spouses
* Needs of children
* Indebtedness and liabilities
* Tax consequences of the division of property
* Earning power, education, business opportunities, capacities, and
abilities of the spouses
* Need for future support
* Nature of the property
* Wasting of community assets by the spouses
* Credit for temporary support paid
* Gifts to or by a spouse during the marriage
* Increase in value of separate property through community efforts
by time, talent, labor, and effort
* Expected inheritances
* Attorney's fees owed
* Value of the separate estates of the spouses
* Actual or constructive fraud committed by a spouse
