Finance and Law

How Is Property Divided in a Divorce in Utah?

<p class&equals;"normal" style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;"><span lang&equals;"EN">When a divorce petition is presented to the court in the state in which a couple resides&comma; a 50&sol;50 split of assets isn’t always guaranteed&period; In the case of a separation&comma; the state won&&num;8217&semi;t require former spouses to split their assets evenly during a divorce&period; <&sol;span><&sol;p>&NewLine;<p class&equals;"normal" style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;"><span lang&equals;"EN">Several different types of assets will be divided during the divorce&comma; and in turn&comma; a couple undergoing the divorce process will need to consider how each of these matters will be handled&period; Once a former couple settles their disputes and responds to the divorce petition&comma; assets will be distributed accordingly&period; <&sol;span><&sol;p>&NewLine;<p class&equals;"normal" style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;"><span lang&equals;"EN">The following article is a brief overview of how different assets may be divided during a Utah-based divorce case&period; For more information on the subject&comma; consult a local expert like the <a href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;staceyschmidtlawfirm&period;com&sol;client-resources&sol;how-to-file-for-divorce-in-utah&sol;" target&equals;"&lowbar;blank" rel&equals;"noopener"><span style&equals;"color&colon; &num;1155cc&semi;">Stacy Schmidt Law Firm<&sol;span><&sol;a> who understands how local laws may impact your unique case&period;<&sol;span><&sol;p>&NewLine;<h2 style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;">Non-marital property<&sol;h2>&NewLine;<hr &sol;>&NewLine;<p class&equals;"normal" style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;"><span lang&equals;"EN">Assets that aren’t shared with the other partner can be reclaimed <a href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;newsforpublic&period;com&sol;ways-stay-healthy-divorce&sol;"><span style&equals;"color&colon; &num;1155cc&semi;">after the marriage has disintegrated<&sol;span><&sol;a>&period; A partner who holds a bank account in their name or signs a car title in their name will be deemed the owner of that particular vehicle or account&period; Personal property that wasn’t purchased during the marriage or that hasn’t been shared with the other partner will be retained&period;<&sol;span><&sol;p>&NewLine;<h2>Premarital or Postnuptial Agreements<&sol;h2>&NewLine;<hr &sol;>&NewLine;<p class&equals;"normal" style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;"><span lang&equals;"EN">The courts in Utah will be well-versed with the legislation&comma; agreements&comma; policies&comma; and procedures in place that will determine the division of assets and how the process unfolds&period; If these agreements are lawful&comma; they’ll be executed by the court&period; <&sol;span><&sol;p>&NewLine;<p class&equals;"normal" style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;"><span lang&equals;"EN">If you believe that your prenuptial or postnuptial agreement is unfair&comma; was signed under duress&comma; or has been unlawfully changed&comma; you should contact a lawyer immediately&period; Otherwise&comma; there will be no way for you to modify the agreement once the grace period has elapsed&period; <&sol;span><&sol;p>&NewLine;<h2 style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;">Real Property<&sol;h2>&NewLine;<hr &sol;>&NewLine;<p class&equals;"normal" style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;"><span lang&equals;"EN">Real property includes any physical land&comma; buildings&comma; or homes&period; When you’re trying to <a href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;www&period;forbes&period;com&sol;sites&sol;jefflanders&sol;2011&sol;04&sol;12&sol;understanding-how-assets-get-divided-in-divorce&sol;&num;367f7cc92b66" target&equals;"&lowbar;blank" rel&equals;"noopener"><span style&equals;"color&colon; &num;1155cc&semi;">divide your assets<&sol;span><&sol;a>&comma; you’ll need to determine how the property was purchased and if it’s shared&period; Anything that was purchased during the marriage could be split-up by the court&period; Distributing the assets might involve selling the property or home and splitting the profits&comma; as defined by the court&period;<&sol;span><&sol;p>&NewLine;<p class&equals;"normal" style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;"><span lang&equals;"EN">Note that real property might also include property that belongs to a business managed by both spouses <a href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;newsforpublic&period;com&sol;questions-ask-divorce-attorney-inking-deal&sol;"><span style&equals;"color&colon; &num;1155cc&semi;">involved in the divorce proceedings&period;<&sol;span><&sol;a> Before the divorce was initiated&comma; you may have drafted a contract that outlines how the business will be managed in the event of a divorce&period; <&sol;span><&sol;p>&NewLine;<p class&equals;"normal" style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;"><span lang&equals;"EN">Unfortunately&comma; however&comma; if you were blindsided by the divorce and did not foresee your marriage collapsing&comma; you might not have included a stipulation of that nature in your company contract&period; In this case&comma; the courts could rule that a business needs to be dissolved or divided by both parties because real property is involved&period;<&sol;span><&sol;p>&NewLine;<h2 style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;">Personal property<&sol;h2>&NewLine;<hr &sol;>&NewLine;<p class&equals;"normal" style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;"><span lang&equals;"EN">Personal property is anything that you can be easily relocated to a new location&period; This might include an asset like a car&period; For a quick&comma; clean-cut&comma; you’ll need to verify that the vehicle wasn’t purchased with community funds&period; When you and your partner have mutually purchased these assets&comma; you may need to divide them during an arbitration or settlement hearing&period;<&sol;span><&sol;p>&NewLine;<p class&equals;"normal" style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;"><span lang&equals;"EN">If you believe you’re entitled to ownership over an item of personal property because you owned these items prior to the marriage&comma; you’ll need to document every instance&period; In a best-case scenario&comma; a couple might also agree to split up the property amicably before the divorce is filed&period; This division of property will be documented in writing when the divorce is filed&period; You should store this documentation in your personal residence to use in the case of unexpected disputes&period;<&sol;span><&sol;p>&NewLine;<p class&equals;"normal" style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;"><span lang&equals;"EN">The other partner might want to take certain items out of the house before an agreement can be reached&period; It’s best to snap pictures or record video footage to catalog all these items that are claimed prematurely&period; It might also be necessary to keep serial numbers and sales documents pertaining to the item to boost your chances of securing the personal property&period;<&sol;span><&sol;p>&NewLine;<h2 style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;">Retirement plans<&sol;h2>&NewLine;<hr &sol;>&NewLine;<p class&equals;"normal" style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;"><span lang&equals;"EN">Retirement plans are divided based on a formula that’s been preset by the state of Utah&period; There are a number of married folks who don’t understand how this process works&comma; especially when they spend their marriage operating under the impression that they can simply keep their retirement account&period; However&comma; according to Utah law&comma; the bread winning spouse must divide their retirement account with their stay-at-home counterpart&period;<&sol;span><&sol;p>&NewLine;<p class&equals;"normal" style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;"><span lang&equals;"EN">Hypothetically&comma; if the employed half of the relationship has a retirement account with a balance of &dollar;100&comma;000&comma; that number will be divided based on two factors&colon; the length of the marriage and the number of years that were worked will be used&period; As a first step&comma; you’ll cut the balance of the account in half&comma; resulting in a &dollar;50&comma;000 total&period; Then&comma; you’ll multiply that number by the number of years worked&period; If the couple has been married for 10 years&comma; that totals &dollar;500&comma;000&period; That figure will be divided by the same 10 years of marriage&comma; meaning the other spouse in question will receive &dollar;50&comma;000&period;<&sol;span><&sol;p>&NewLine;<h2>Can couples come to an agreement on their own&quest;<&sol;h2>&NewLine;<hr &sol;>&NewLine;<p class&equals;"normal" style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;"><span lang&equals;"EN">Yes&comma; couples can reach an agreement on their own terms if they have written and agreed to the divorce petition&period; The couple can submit that paperwork to their lawyer&comma; and the lawyer will add that information to the divorce documents&period; <&sol;span><&sol;p>&NewLine;<p class&equals;"normal" style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;"><span lang&equals;"EN">If the state accepts the aforementioned documentation&comma; there won’t be any trouble&period; However&comma; the court will refer to the guidelines listed above when maneuvering divorce proceedings with a couple that’s battling for assets such as real property and personal property&period;<&sol;span><&sol;p>&NewLine;<h2 style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;">Prepare for divorce<&sol;h2>&NewLine;<hr &sol;>&NewLine;<p class&equals;"normal" style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;"><span lang&equals;"EN"><a href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;www&period;forbes&period;com&sol;sites&sol;frawleypollock&sol;2020&sol;02&sol;03&sol;does-it-hurt-your-divorce-when-you-treat-your-spouse-badly&sol;" target&equals;"&lowbar;blank" rel&equals;"noopener"><span style&equals;"color&colon; &num;1155cc&semi;">When you’re preparing to get divorced<&sol;span><&sol;a>&comma; you’ll need to list all of your personal property&comma; review any agreements that have been made during the marriage&comma; and consider any property that will be discussed during the divorce proceedings&period; <&sol;span><&sol;p>&NewLine;<p class&equals;"normal" style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;"><span lang&equals;"EN">Don’t be surprised if your personal property is removed from the home&period; To avoid any other surprises from popping up&comma; as a proactive measure&comma; the couple should calculate how a retirement account will be divided&period; If you haven’t taken the initiative to divide your retirement funds&comma; you may find yourself struggling during the filing process&period;<&sol;span><&sol;p>&NewLine;<h2 style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;">Reach out to an attorney today<&sol;h2>&NewLine;<hr &sol;>&NewLine;<p class&equals;"normal" style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;"><span lang&equals;"EN">Because you’re not a legal expert&comma; you should contact a lawyer to assist you with the divorce process&period; When you present information pertaining to the division of property assets to your lawyer&comma; you may need to do additional work to help the divorce come to fruition&period; <&sol;span><span lang&equals;"EN"> <&sol;span><&sol;p>&NewLine;<p class&equals;"normal" style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;"><span lang&equals;"EN">You should also remember that most former spouses who are pursuing divorce will be able to reach an agreement beforehand&period; If you can agree on matters such as child custody&comma; child support&comma; and alimony before going to court&comma; you can rack-up significant savings&period; If not&comma; the state will make these decisions on your behalf&comma; which can extend the length of your divorce proceedings&period;<&sol;span><&sol;p>&NewLine;

Hardik Patel

Hardik Patel is a Digital Marketing Consultant and professional Blogger. He has 16+ years experience in SEO, SMO, SEM, Online reputation management, Affiliated Marketing and Content Marketing.

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