How is property divided?

In the Commonwealth of Virginia, the process of property division is called “equitable distribution.” In that process, the court, with the help of the parties’ attorneys, will identify all of the parties’ property, value it and divide it. Courts consider a number of factors in dividing property, such as:

• The contributions, monetary and nonmonetary, of each party to the well-being of the family;

• The contributions, monetary and nonmonetary, of each party in the acquisition and care and maintenance of such marital property of the parties;

• The duration of the marriage;

• The ages and physical and mental condition of the parties;

• The circumstances and factors which contributed to the dissolution of the marriage;

• How and when specific items of such marital property were acquired;

• The debts and liabilities of each spouse, the basis for such debts and liabilities, and the property which may serve as security for such debts and liabilities;

• The liquid or nonliquid character of all marital property;

• The tax consequences to each party; and

• The use or expenditure of marital property by either of the parties for a nonmarital separate purpose or the dissipation of such funds, when such was done in anticipation of divorce or separation or after the last separation of the parties.