When going through divorce, you will have to undergo asset division as well. This is the process of dividing up any community or jointly owned marital properties in an equitable or equal way.
But how do you even determine what sort of assets you will divide in the first place?
Separate property
The Pennsylvania General Assembly talks about marital property and how to handle it during divorce. The first step is understanding how property ends up classified during divorce. Typically, it divides into two categories: separate or community property.
Separate property typically remains exempt from the division process. This can include things like an inheritance received during the marriage, gifts given to you directly, and anything that you owned before the marriage.
The transfer of separate property
Note that some separate property may transfer to community property in certain events. For example, if you take money that you owned before the marriage and put it into a joint bank account, this will change it from separate to community property.
Community property
Community property is what ends up divided in the divorce. This typically includes anything with both of your names on it or anything that you purchased with a joint bank account. Common community property assets include things like vehicles, homes and properties.
Understanding how asset division works before going into the marriage is a smart thing to do. It is also smart to have a prenuptial agreement in place to avoid the complications of asset division. But it is still perfectly possible to work things out even without one.
