Mississippi Divorce Attorneys Handle Property Division Disputes

Respected family law attorneys serving clients in Southaven, Hernando, Olive Branch, Horn Lake, Walls, Senatobia, Coldwater, and throughout Northwest Mississippi

Property division notoriously causes strife during divorces. Who will get the house? Who will get the family dog? How will the bank accounts and credit card debt get divided up? These and many other questions all come into play as a divorcing couple figures out how to divide the assets and debts. Sometimes, the couple is able to come to an agreement and their attorneys draw up a settlement. In other cases, when the two parties are simply unable to come to terms, the Chancery court will divide the property.

At the law firm of Taylor Jones Taylor, the attorneys know that divorcing couples might find it challenging to work together to find an agreeable resolution. The firm works on your behalf, leveraging knowledge and experience to help couples find the middle ground. You can rest a bit easier knowing that your family law attorney can protect your rights while helping you to resolve whatever stands in the way of reaching a settlement in your property division dispute.

How is property divided in Mississippi divorce?

When a couple decides to divorce they can either come to a fair, mutually agreeable settlement about how they will divide their property, or if they are not able to come to an agreement, the court will divide their assets and their debts and award alimony if that is appropriate. According to Mississippi, the court follows these steps in dividing the divorcing couple’s assets:

1. The court classifies the parties’ assets and debts as “marital” or “non-marital.”
2. The court values and equitably divides the marital property in light of each party’s non-marital property and respective needs.
3. If the equitably divided marital assets will adequately provide for both parties, then no alimony is awarded.
4. If the equitably divided marital assets leave a deficit for one party, then alimony is considered.

Property acquired during the marriage by the couple is considered marital property. Over the course of the marriage, the couple may have purchased items such as real estate, cars, boats, furniture and appliances, along with the checking, savings and investment accounts shared between the two. Any property that can be considered marital property will be divided according to equitable distribution by the court.

If one of the parties brought property into the marriage, or inherited property, it may be classified as separate property. Separate or non-marital property is not subject to equitable distribution unless it has been comingled with marital property, or used for the purpose of the family. The court decides what can be considered marital and non-marital property.

How is equitable distribution applied?

After the court has classified whether an asset is marital or non-marital, they will then equitably divide and distribute the property between the two. Equitable distribution does not always mean that the property will be divided equally.  The court uses a host of specific guidelines in order to apply the principle of equitable distribution on a case by case basis.

The division of assets is a complex process. When you hire the law firm of Taylor Jones Taylor, you will have the advantage of working with a law firm that is always prepared for the courtroom, but is equally adept at negotiating a settlement on behalf of clients.

Handling simple and complex property division with skill and ease

The Southaven law firm of Taylor Jones Taylor’s legal team has experience resolving a wide range of marital estates, which include real estate, business ownership and other matters, and extensive knowledge of the legal and financial aspects of property division. To schedule a consultation to discuss your case, please call 662.342.1300, or fill out this contact form. How can we help your family today?