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Property Division Upon Divorce in Mississippi
(provided by M. Craig Robertson, PLLC, Attorney at Law )
Mississippi is an equitable distribution state. This means that regardless of whose name an asset is titled, the Court is charged with the duty of looking at the entire makeup of the marital estate in making a determination as to what a fair order for divorce will include. The marital estate is basically everything that is acquired, both assets and liabilities, during the course of a marriage. The marital estate may also include things that a person brought into the marriage or that were gifted or bequeathed to them during the marriage if certain criteria are met. This is the idea of ³commingling" which is still being developed in the laws of our state. The factors that the court is charged to consider in making a property division are as follows:
- The direct or indirect economic contribution to the acquisition of the property made by the parties;
- The contribution to the stability and harmony of the marital and family relationships as measured by quality, quantity of time spent on family duties and duration of the marriage;
- The contribution to the education, training or other accomplishment bearing on the earning power of the spouse accumulating the assets;
- The degree to which each spouse has expended, withdrawn or otherwise disposed of marital assets and any prior distribution of such assets by agreement, decree or otherwise;
- The market value and the emotional value of the assets subject to distribution;
- The value of assets not ordinarily, absent equitable factors to the contrary, subject to such distribution, such as property brought to the marriage by the parties and property acquired by inheritance or gift by or to an individual spouse;
- The tax and other economic consequences, and contractual or legal consequences to third parties, of the proposed distribution;
- The extent to which property division may, with equity to both parties, be utilized to eliminate periodic payments and other potential sources of future friction between the parties;
- The needs of the parties for financial security with due regard to the combination of assets, income and earning capacity; and
- Any other factor which should be considered.
The first step in making a division of property is identification. Property can be real estate, a business, cars, paintings, jewelry, cash, bank accounts, retirement accounts- almost anything of monetary or emotional value. We will work together by using Financial Declarations and other worksheets to identify all of your assets.
The next step is to place a value on the assets. This could be as easy as looking at a bank statement or as complicated as hiring an expert business valuation specialist to place a market value on a spouse's share in a closely held corporation. Sometimes we will estimate values to save litigation expenses. The regular means of determining fair value of property is to make use of a capable individual trained in assessment and appraisal techniques for the property sought to be valued. Notwithstanding this, in some instances you will elect to agree to the values or equities of property to be divided without the employment of specialized appraisers in order to save time and additional expense.
After all the assets have been identified and we know what the values of the assets are, a division can be made either by agreement or court order, taking into consideration the factors listed above known as the ³Ferguson Factors."
Do not hide assets. These assets are usually found; and if they are found, you will look like a criminal to the court. The Chancellor will then have difficulty believing what you say about anything.
Information provided by:
M. Craig Robertson, PLLC, Attorney at Law located at
http://www.robertson.ms
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