You will need to reach an agreement in Arizona on how you want to divide your assets and liabilities. If you fail to reach an agreement on property division, the Superior Court will take the matter into their hands.

The court will decide how assets owned by a couple should be split. Fairness does not always mean a 50/50 split for community property.

What is Community Property?

Any property you acquire during marriage is marital or community property. This means that you and your spouse share the assets. Arizona law recognizes marital property as property acquired by one spouse during marriage.

This includes homes, land and bank accounts as well as investments, stock options, stock options, vehicles and furniture. It also covers the earnings of spouses, pensions, retirement plans, and pensions. The Arizona community property laws exempt any property or assets acquired prior to marriage, as well as any gifts, wills, or inheritance. All assets the couple agrees not to share will be exempt.

You can also exempt the property from community property laws if you owned it before you married your spouse. You must prove your ownership through financial records or other documents.

Divorce: Dividing Assets

Arizona’s community property law divides marital assets regardless of who bought them or to whose name they were registered. Any assets acquired prior to marriage will be retained. There are several key factors that come into play when dividing property during a divorce.

Community Property, or Separate Property

The courts have no jurisdiction over community property. Therefore, each spouse must show which assets are community property. To make separate property claims, each spouse must show evidence through financial records and documents.

Sometimes what was once considered separate property may be considered community property after marriage. If both spouses are named on the deed, a house owned by one spouse prior to marriage could be considered community property.

Value Agreement for Marital Property

All accrued assets and debts must be given a monetary value prior to property being divided. Appraisals are a common method of doing this. An appraisal assigns a dollar value to assets such as homes, cars, art and other properties. Although each spouse can perform this task independently, if there are disagreements about the value of an asset, the court can intervene and assess it.

Retirement accounts are prone to problems as it can be difficult to assign a value. Professional appraisers are usually called to assess the account’s value and determine how much it has grown since its marriage.

Dividing Property Properly

The courts have many options for how to divide property in divorce proceedings. If the property is not entirely separate, one spouse may have the right to purchase the share of the other spouse. You may want to sell assets and split the proceeds if you are preparing for divorce.

There are exceptions for certain situations. The court might grant exceptions in certain cases. For example, if your spouse was reckless with money and spent it on gambling, the court could find you in favor. If there are large debts, the court might decide against the spouse who has accumulated them.

Divorce and property division can be very complicated and intricate. It is recommended that you consult a divorce attorney to resolve property division issues. You will be able to put the divorce behind you by contacting a lawyer.