When it comes to the division of property during a divorce, Georgia law provides for marital property to be subject to “equitable division.” In the case of Moore v. Moore (249 Ga. 27 (1982)), the courts defined “marital property” as property acquired by the parties during the marriage. Generally speaking, GA marital property can be a house, a bank account, a retirement account or any other real or personal property acquired during the marriage.
Of course, in order for a court to determine how to divide marital property “equitably,” it is necessary that the court first place a value on that marital property. Valuing marital property in Georgia can be as simple as looking up the balance in a bank account, or as complicated as putting a dollar value on a closely held family business.
When the value of marital property is not known, Georgia courts often rely on experts. In real estate, for example, if a judge wanted to determine the value of a marital home they might rely on the testimony of a real estate appraiser. An appraiser would be asked to testify as to the fair market value of the home minus any mortgages, liens or other encumbrances. Oftentimes, however, a couple will prefer to sell the home, making the valuation of the asset significantly either. If this were the case, the court would likely order the parties to divide the proceeds from the sale “equitably” after all costs are deducted. On the other hand, should one party prefer to remain in the residence, the court could order the spouse remaining in the home to refinance the mortgage on the property in his or her own name. In either scenario, knowing the dollar value of the home will assist the court in determining how to equitably divide it.
A “fair market value” approach works well for real estate, but what about other types of marital property? As an example, lets take a family business.
The value of a small business is based on a number of different factors because if the business is a closely held corporation the stocks may have no value on the open market. Of course, the business might be quite profitable, so to value it at $0 is unrealistic. Thus if the parties have a marital business, a GA court will have several issues to contend with such as ownership rights and interests, voting rights, and “key man” issues. Again, an expert will likely play a large role in assisting the court
In general, the valuation of marital assets can present extremely complicated issues, and if you are dealing with a divorce that will involve the separation of assets, we suggest you contact one of our divorce attorneys today.
Tags: GA Separation of Assets
What is an equitable division? Is it 50/50 down the middle, or does one party get more or less because of “other” factors?
What is the definition of “equitable”? Does that mean a 50/50 split down the middle, or does one person get more than another based on various other factors about the divorce?
Hi! I like your srticle and I would like very much to read some more information on this issue. Will you post some more?
To equitable ex:
IANAL, but I think you’re confusing alimony with property division. Alimony tends to take a “total picture” approach, while property division tends to take a “who has what invested” approach.
Oh, and for those who aren’t web-heads/geeks/slashdotters, IANAL means “I am not a lawyer.”
I could very well be wrong!
I think this area of valuing assets during a divorce is ripe for nonsense “experts” in the field that will testify that a business is worth millions, or nothing at all, depending on which spouse is paying them.
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