Dunlop, Dunlop & Dunlop, P.A. - The Family that Practices Family Law

Dunlop, Dunlop & Dunlop, P.A. is staffed by a family of attorneys who know the laws of Florida. We know that property division is usually a complex issue in a divorce. Contact our experienced central Florida non-marital assets disputes attorney for assistance with your case.

The intense emotions involved in a divorce can prevent you from easily reaching an agreement on how to divide marital assets. The courts and legislatures have tried to alleviate some of these problems by setting up rules that govern property division. Florida uses an "equitable distribution" model for property division, rather than the "community property" model that some states use.

Equitable Distribution

Under Florida law, property settlements resulting from divorce are controlled by the concept of equitable distribution. Under this analysis, any property acquired during the marriage is classified as "marital property". The presumption is that at the end of the marriage, the marital assets must be evenly divided in a 50/50 split between the divorcing spouses. However, this can be rebutted through legal arguments presented at court, resulting in an unequal distribution.

Marital assets can consist of nearly anything of value that was acquired during the course of the marriage, including:

• Pensions and Annuities
• Retirement Plans (including 401k's)
• Stocks & Bonds
• Material Assets such as cars, houses, real property
• Businesses
• Goodwill Created by a Business that was established or developed during a marriage
• Special Equity

The theory behind this concept is that both spouses end up contributing an equal amount of time and effort to a household. If one parent stayed at home, his or her contribution to the marriage came in the form of raising the children and maintaining the household. Often, both spouses work, and usually one spouse earns more than the other. The law regards each spouse’s earnings as being a marital asset, regardless of how much more one spouse earned than the other. This is also true of debts incurred during the marriage. Each spouse is equally liable for marital debts, regardless of which spouse incurred the debt. There are a few limited exceptions related to special equity and infidelity, which our attorneys need to address on a case by case basis as these exceptions are very fact specific. Also, the valuation date of the marital assets and debts is a very critical issue that has to be determined by agreement of the parties or by the judge, at trial.

Special Equity • Non-Marital Assets • Marital Assets

Our firm assists individuals in determining what is marital property, non-marital property, or special equity. Non-marital property is not divided after a divorce. It consists of property that was owned prior to the marriage, or distributions from wills and estates that were specifically intended to go to one of the spouses. Marital assets are property that is owned by both parties. Regardless of whose name is on the title of the property, the presumption is that the property is marital property if it was acquired during the marriage.

Our firm works to recognize special equity an individual has in property that was brought into the marriage but enhanced throughout the duration of the marriage. Through our investigation and presentation of the special equity, a judge may rule non-marital property to be marital, or marital property to be non-marital.

If you are facing a divorce, or you want to learn more about the the legal issues and the related practical matters that must be resolved in a divorce, you can contact an experienced Orlando, Florida property division lawyer at our office by calling (407) 628-4300 or you can contact us by filling out our online contact form.

Dunlop, Dunlop & Dunlop, P.A.
Attorneys at Law
Suite A
301 North Park Avenue
Winter Park, FL 32789
Phone: (407) 628-4300
Fax: (407) 628-4345
Email