If you and your spouse have no previous agreement in place as to dividing your property, or cannot come to agreement, you can have the courts decide. North Carolina courts classify a divorcing couple’s property into separate and marital. Your marital property includes shared property and assets acquired during the course of your marriage as a couple. Separate property is gifts and inheritances given to just one spouse, or any property owned by just one of you before the marriage.
If you and your spouse cannot come to mutual agreement regarding your property division, you’ll have to go to court and have a judge decide. Marital property includes only the property acquired during your marriage. Separate property is just that – gifts or inheritance given to just one spouse, or property and assets brought into the marriage by only one of you.
North Carolina is an equitable distribution state, meaning the court distributes assets and property equally, but not necessarily 50/50. Generally, the court divides property between spouses in they way they believe is fair...more