Going through a divorce is hard. While this decision may be the best choice for you, it can still cause feelings of grief that can affect your mental health as you navigate your case’s proceedings in Missouri.
However, when you become familiar with the state’s legal timeline and formal processes, you can plan an effective approach that can help you push through your divorce more confidently.
How does property division work in Missouri?
Under Missouri divorce laws, you and your spouse’s division of property shall follow the equitable distribution principle. During this process, the court will assess several key factors about your marriage that can help provide you both with a fair division of marital property.
Five common factors include:
- Each of your earning capacities
- Each of your homemaking contributions
- Each of your economic circumstances
- Each of your conduct during the marriage
- The custodial arrangement for your minor children
Since the court will only seek to divide you and your spouse’s marital property and debts, you will most likely keep your respective nonmarital property.
However, if one of you changes a specific nonmarital asset’s title to include your spouse’s name as a co-owner, this nonmarital asset becomes a marital asset.
What happens to inherited assets?
Any inheritance that you receive before and during your marriage are considered “separate property” or nonmarital property. These types of assets do not undergo property division.
Two other examples of separate property include:
- Gifts
- Personal injury rewards
If you were able to keep your inherited assets fully separate from your marital funds, they will remain yours to keep after the divorce.
Your divorce’s property division process deserves fairness
By understanding how property division works in a Missouri divorce, you can protect your legal rights and ensure that your division of marital assets and debts are processed equitably by the court system.
