The decision to divorce is never easy. But once you get there, you realize it's more than just the end of a relationship. It's an unraveling of your physical life together with this other person.

Which begs the question: How do we split all of our stuff?

One thing to consider is what is a marital asset versus a separate asset. Marital assets are what you acquired during your marriage together. Even if there is a title, deed, or account with just one person's name on it, that will not matter - if something is a marital asset, it is owned by both of you, and will need to be divided during your divorce.

Separate property is what a spouse owned before they got married. Usually, you will keep whatever assets you brought into the marriage, but a judge can sometimes decide that separate property can be divided. This may happen, for example, if you separately owned the home before your marriage, but your spouse financially contributed to improving it.

In Michigan, the law requires judges to divide all the marital assets fairly, which typically results in each person getting half of everything. The judge may deviate from this if there is significant income disparity, the length of the marriage, health, age, or really any relevant factor.

Maybe you and your ex-spouse had a prenuptial agreement. In this case, the court will honor this document as long as:

• The agreement is fair and equitable under the circumstances.
• There was no coercion, fraud, or undue influence when the prenup was signed.
• The agreement is in writing.

Spouses may decide to use a prenup because they have business interests they want to protect, retirement accounts in their name, or outstanding debts that one person does not want to take on in the event of divorce. If everything is considered fair in the agreement and the divorce proceedings, then your assets will be divided accordingly.

All in all, if spouses cannot decide how to divide assets themselves, it's up to the judges to make sure everything comes out fairly in the end.

Are you worried about an unfair division of assets in your divorce? Contact Striegle Law to receive the best representation during this difficult time.