For many people preparing for a Pennsylvania divorce, concerns about property division leave them feeling anxious. They don’t know what to expect, and they worry about needing to divide most of their resources with their spouses. Between the costs of divorce and the need to divide property, people may need years to rebuild after the end of a marriage.
Pennsylvania’s equitable distribution statute leaves a lot to the discretion of a judge. All marital income and property, as well as marital debts, are subject to division. A 50/50 split is not likely in a Pennsylvania divorce because judges have to consider so many unique details about the marriage and the spouses.
It is all but impossible to predict exactly how a judge might divide marital property. However, people can predict what happens with their separate property, as it is typically not subject to division. The following assets are commonly treated as separate property in Pennsylvania divorces.
Property acquired before or after the marriage
Many people start their marriages with valuable resources already in their names. Individuals may be able to protect some of their financial savings or other valuable property by proving that they owned those assets before getting married or acquired them after separating from their spouse. While the assets people acquired during marriage are subject to division, what they accumulate before and after marriage is their separate property.
Property received as an inheritance or gift
Many people acquire valuable property from others. Family members and other loved ones might make sizable gifts to one spouse in particular. They could also inherit resources ranging from businesses to real estate when someone they know dies. With certain exceptions for cases involving commingling, gifts and inherited resources are usually separate property.
Assets protected with a marital agreement
Some spouses sign prenuptial agreements before they get married. Others negotiate agreements but when their marriage goes through a rough patch or they acquire certain property. The assets that spouses specifically designate as separate property in a marital contract have protection from division as part of the marital estate. So long as the prenuptial or postnuptial agreement is valid and enforceable, spouses can protect certain resources as separate property based on their written agreement.
Reviewing financial records with a skilled legal team to determine what assets are separate property can be helpful for those preparing for divorce. Separate property can potentially provide a nest egg for those rebuilding their finances after divorce.