Equitable Distribution

Florida is one of 40 states that utilize Equitable Distribution when determining how to characterize and distribution marital and non-marital assets and liabilities.

Equitable Distribution begins with the premise that assets and liabilities acquired and incurred during the marriage are presumed to be marital. Florida has strict definitions of what qualifies as a marital asset and what qualifies as a non-marital asset.

While Florida used to award what was formerly known as “special equity” that has since been abrogated and in some instances a party can seek an “unequal distribution” of the marital estate.

Examples of assets are real estate, (the marital home and investment property), brokerage accounts, retirement accounts, bank accounts, IRAs are all distributed in a dissolution proceeding. Examples of liabilities are mortgages, lines of credit, credit cards and notes payable. Property that includes a combination of assets and liabilities, such as a business, corporation, LLC or partnership are discussed separately under “Business Valuation” and we encourage you to review that section of our website.