When going through a divorce in Tennessee, one of the most important agreements you will need to come to is the agreement on how marital assets will be divided. All assets belonging to either divorcing spouse can fall into one of two categories: separate assets or marital assets. Separate assets belong solely to either spouse and are never subject to division at divorce. Marital assets belong jointly to both spouses, and therefore they need to be divided during divorce.
In Tennessee, community property is not recognized. This means that divorce courts in Tennessee do not automatically divide community property equally between spouses. Instead, they make a judgment based on the circumstances of the divorce and the contributions that each spouse made to the marriage. The following are some tips for dividing assets in a Tennessee divorce.
Come to a mutually agreeable solution
If you have an amicable relationship with your divorcing spouse, you may be able to talk things through together and agree on how you will divide assets between the two of you. If you are able to agree on asset division together, you’ll likely save yourself a lot of stress.
Show how you have contributed to the marriage
If you are unable to come to a mutual decision with your divorcing spouse, you will need to prove to the courts that you are deserving of a significant portion of the marital assets. You may be able to do this by showing the financial and non-financial contributions that you made to the marriage.
If you are going through a divorce in Tennessee, it is important that you understand the key aspects of asset division.