Law Office Of Robert A. Skovgaard

Call For Your Free Consultation: 203-883-4506

Photo of Robert A. Skovgaard

The Personalized Care And Attention Your Family Deserves

Photo of Robert A. Skovgaard

What makes for a fair and equitable property settlement?

On Behalf of | Mar 15, 2019 | Firm News |

As you prepare for your Connecticut divorce, one of the things you may be concerned about is how you and your spouse will divide up your marital assets between you. Given that Connecticut is an equitable distribution state, you and (s)he can divide your assets however you please in your property settlement agreement as long as the overall distribution constitutes a fair and equitable one.

But what constitutes “fair and equitable” when it comes to dividing the assets you and your spouse have accumulated during your marriage? Surprisingly, the one thing “fair and equitable” does not mean is that the two of you must split up your property 50/50. While you certainly can divide your property this way, you do not need to do so if that would be unfair and inequitable to one of you.

Factors to consider

Since “fair and equitable” has no precise definition, you and your spouse should take the following things into consideration when dividing up your marital assets:

  • Your respective ages and health situations
  • How much each of you earns each year
  • How much each of you likely will earn in the future
  • The length of your marriage
  • The standard of living you both achieved during your marriage
  • The type and amount of financial and nonfinancial contributions each of you made to the marriage

Also remember that a fair and equitable property settlement agreement applies only to your marital assets. If you and/or your spouse owns separate property, such as something you owned prior to your marriage or inherited during your marriage, this property belongs to you alone. It remains separate and apart from your marital property.