Enid Lawyers Counsel Clients on Dividing Marital Property

Oklahoma attorneys help achieve fair distribution of divorcing spouses’ possessions

When couples divorce, the court must distribute between them the property acquired as a direct result of the labor and investments of the parties during the marriage. At Long, Claypole & Blakley Law, PLC, we provide one-on-one service to our divorce clients to ensure that they get a fair share of the property that is divided while retaining the property that belongs exclusively to them.

Counselors advise on the process of determining how your property is divided

In Oklahoma, there are two types of property in a marriage:

• Community property—Generally, money earned and property accumulated during a marriage fall into this category, although there are exceptions. All community property is subject to “equitable division” in a divorce.
• Separate property—This category includes property you acquired before your marriage, inheritance and gifts acquired before or during marriage and property you purchased in your sole name with any of the foregoing types of property. You retain all of your separate property after divorce, except to the extent that it is used to satisfy your alimony

There are special rules for classifying disability benefits. It they are intended to replace future wages, they are community property, but if they replace retirement benefits, they are separate property. The court makes the final decision on the classification.

After the property is classified, the court adds up the fair market value of the community property and subtracts the divorcing couple’s debts from it to determine their net worth. Finally, the court determines how this net worth is divided between the parties. The property need not necessarily be divided on a 50/50 basis, as long as the court determines that the division it makes is just and reasonable.

Skilled divorce advocates guide the court in determining the equitable distribution of community property

The court has a lot of discretion in determining how to make a just and reasonable division of marital property. Factors the court considers are:

• Each spouse’s ability to work
• Each spouse’s disabilities
• Which parent will be caring for the children
• The amount of alimony that one spouse will be paying to the other
• The spouses’ debts
• Any fraud that one spouse may have committed upon the other
• Any conduct that increased or decreased the value of community property

On the other hand, the court cannot consider such factors as:

• Which spouse has a greater financial need for the community property
• Who contributed more money to the purchase of the community property
• Misconduct that does not affect the value of community property, such as infidelity

We are experienced in classifying and evaluating property and guiding the court toward an equitable division that will be as beneficial for our clients.

Contact a knowledgeable property division attorney in Enid

Long, Claypole & Blakley Law, PLC advises and advocates for Oklahomans on all issues related to the classification and equitable division of property in a divorce. Please call 580-599-0191 or contact us online to make an appointment for a consultation at our Enid office.