“I married a much younger man. He brought most all of the assets into our marriage, which is over $1 million. It is not working out. If I file for divorce, what am I entitled to under Indiana law?”
The presumptive division of the marital estate is 50/50. In addition, Indiana is a one-pot theory state. What this means is that assets owned before the marriage, obtained during the marriage, or after it before separation, are included in the martial estate to be divided (a.k.a. Division of Assets) by the trial court.
However, for marriage of short-duration, the Divorce Act directs trial court to consider the extent to which assets were owned and brought into the marriage or obtained through inheritance. If this is the case, courts routinely make an unequal division far beyond the typical outside boundaries of 60%/40%.
A trial court hearing the divorce may well return the parties to their financial statutes before the divorce. This is not necessarily the case if the non-monied spouse has held to develop the asset brought into the divorce (such as co-farming the other spouse’s farm).
In this case, an something more akin to an equal division may be a proper discretionary call fora trial court. These cases take careful and exhaustive factual analysis by attorney and client. Failure to do so may result in a shortfall in trial evidence and an equal division where it ay be unwarranted.
Thus, at Dixon & Moseley, P.C. we believe a close working relationship with legal counsel is not just prudent, but required to maximize either position. Long forgotten facts may mean the difference between thousands upon thousands of dollars in a division.
Whether this occurs, if a child is born, or a spouse is disabled or has forgone a career, child support and spousal maintenance may also come into play. Divorce is something many attorneys do, but few divorce attorneys and their clients spend the time and energy necessary to make the best case.
This is an area where Dixon & Moseley, P.C. – Indianapolis Divorce Attorneys, spend a considerable part of their professional time. Do you believe this is the approach you need or demand in you case, if so, please contact us.