This means giving back to the husband and wife what each of them brought to the marriage, both assets and debts, and dividing up in some fair way the assets and debts the parties Giving back to, that is, to return the parties to the financial position in which they arrived at the marriage. Generally, separate property acquired before the marriage or by gift or inheritance during the marriage may be excluded from the marital estate if neither the property nor its income has been used for the common benefit of the parties during their marriage. So where a wife exercises exclusive dominion and control over property and excludes the husband from any role with it, and where the husband derived no benefit from the property by virtue of the marital relationship, the property is considered the wife s separate estate. However, where the parties regularly use property acquired before marriage for the common benefit of the parties, it is available for consideration in dividing property. It is in dealing with the marital home that courts often fall back on the principle that they are to devise an equitable distribution, not necessary an equal one.
Courts can get creative in dealing with the family home.
Or she may be given the right to stay in the home until she remarries or until all the children reached the age of majority, whichever happens first. The spouse owning the benefits must have a vested interest in them or be receiving them on the date the divorce action is filed. The parties must have been married for 10 years, during which the retirement benefit was being accumulated. Any retirement benefits accumulated before the marriage, including any earnings produced by such benefits, must be excluded. The total benefit extended to the non-covered spouse may not exceed half the benefit to be considered.