Maine Property Division Lawyers

During a divorce proceeding, the property owned by the married parties must be distributed between the two parties.

A party who can come to an agreement about the distribution of their property with their former spouse will still benefit from the advice of a Divorce Trial Lawyer. Your Divorce Trial Lawyer can help you draft a Settlement Agreement between you and the other party, which outlines the specific distribution of all tangible and intangible property and any further steps that may be necessary to further that distribution.  

For example, your Divorce Trial Lawyer can reduce to writing certain actions that may be required to sell the Marital Home and distribute the funds following closing.  Your Divorce Trial Lawyer can also include certain language that will release you from liability should the other party be inclined to litigate certain divorce issues again in the future.

If you are unable to come to an agreement, your Divorce Trial Lawyer makes arguments to the Court as to how the property should be distributed by the parties. The Court in Maine is obligated by statute to distribute the property “equitably.”  This does not mean, however, that property must be distributed equally.  This gives your Trial Lawyer room to present arguments as to how and why the property should be divided between the parties, based on the specific facts of your marriage.

Non-Marital Property

When the Court is distributing assets to the parties, it must consider whether the property is “non-marital property” and thus not subject to distribution by the Court.

Non-Marital Property is property owned by one party prior to marriage.  Non-Marital Property also includes property acquired in exchange for property owned before the marriage, property received by gift or inheritance, property acquired after a decree of legal separation, and the increase of the value of the non-marital property.

Non-Marital Property remains “non-marital property” if it is not subsequently “gifted” to the other spouse. Your Divorce Trial Lawyer will be able to advise you as to whether property that was once “non-marital” became “marital” property due to certain actions by the parties or whether certain “non-marital property” increased in value due to marital efforts. 

If you owned a house, vehicle, retirement accounts, investment accounts, or business interests prior to your marriage, this property may be “non-marital” property. If the property is deemed “non-marital”, it is not subject to equitable distribution during the divorce proceeding. As such, it is imperative to consider this classification when contemplating divorce, in order to ensure the assets and property you acquired before the marriage will not be distributed to the other party.

Financial Statement

One of the many Court forms that you will be required to complete during your divorce proceeding is a Financial Statement. On this form, you will disclose information on the following:

• Real Estate
• Motor Vehicles (including cars, boats, trailers, motorcycles, and aircraft)
• Tangible Personal Property (including furniture, televisions, computers, electronics, and jewelry)
• Cash
• Bank Accounts (including savings accounts, checking accounts, money market accounts, and certificates of deposit)
• Retirement Benefits & Deferred Compensation (including pension plans, annuities, IRAs, 401(k)s, 403(b), and SEPs)
• Investment & Brokerage Accounts (including mutual funds, stock, bonds, options, ESOPs, and secured or unsecured notes)
• Business Interests (including sole proprietorships, corporations, and limited liability companies)
• Life Insurance PoliciesLawsuits & Claims
• Income Tax Refunds or Amounts Owed
• Debts
• Income
• Deductions
• Expenses (including household expenses, transportation expenses, personal expenses, and minor and dependent children expenses)
• Bankruptcy

Certain additional details on the above assets, debts, and expenses will also be required, including the County Recorded Book and Page Number for all property, dates property or debts were acquired, the value of property and debts, and specific weekly or monthly expense amounts. 

A Divorce Trial Lawyer will help you create an exhaustive list of these assets, debts, and expenses, the values of each, and other specific details required by the Court.