What is marital property and debt? What is the difference between marital property and separate property?

A good rule of thumb is that property acquired during the marriage is marital property, and property acquired before the marriage is separate property.  However, there are a few key exceptions.  If property was acquired during the marriage by gift or inheritance, that is also considered separate property.  Section 452.330.2 R.S.Mo. defines marital property as all property other than:

(1) Property acquired by gift, bequest, devise, or descent;

(2) Property acquired in exchange for property acquired prior to the marriage or in exchange for property acquired by gift, bequest, devise, or descent;

(3) Property acquired by a spouse after a decree of legal separation;

(4) Property excluded by valid written agreement of the parties; and

(5) The increase in value of property acquired prior to the marriage or pursuant to subdivisions (1) to (4) of this subsection, unless marital assets including labor, have contributed to such increases and then only to the extent of such contributions.

Is marital property divided equally in a divorce? Is Missouri a “50/50 State”?

Property and debt in Missouri is always divided between the spouses in an “equitable” manner.  Keep in mind that “equitable” is not the same as “equal”. 

You might have a situation where one spouse receives more than half of the marital property, or more than half of the marital debt, and this outcome may be warranted by the facts of your case. In the event that one spouse engages in egregious marital misconduct or dissipates marital assets without the other’s consent, a judge may award the other spouse with a substantially larger portion of the marital estate. 

Absent extraordinary circumstances, judges in Missouri will usually seek to divide marital property and debt in a near equal manner.

How does a judge decide on how to divide marital property and marital debt?

Section 452.330 of the Missouri Revised Statutes (2000) requires that a judge consider “all relevant factors”.  These factors include, but are not limited to these five issues:

 (1)  The economic circumstances of each spouse at the time the division of property is to become effective, including the desirability of warding the family home or the right to live therein for reasonable periods to the spouse having custody of the children;

(2)  The contribution of each spouse to the acquisition of the marital property, including the contribution of a spouse as a homemaker;

(3)  The value of the nonmarital property set apart to each spouse;

(4)  The conduct of the parties during the marriage; and

(5)  Custodial arrangements for the marital children.