Eastern North Carolina Divorce Attorney for Complex Property Divisions
If you and your spouse own interests in real estate, businesses, investments, retirement or other significant assets, you need an attorney with vast experience dealing with the finer details of property division. Eastern North Carolina divorce attorney Marcia H. Armstrong focuses her practice on dividing complex property interests in an equitable manner.
As a nationally recognized trial attorney, Marcia’s courtroom experience makes her a formidable advocate in settlement negotiations. When parties cannot agree on a settlement, Marcia is ready and able to take your case to trial to protect your marital rights regarding property and alimony.
In addition to her experience as a litigator, Marcia is a Superior Court and Family Financial Mediator certified by the North Carolina Dispute Resolution Commission and is a certified arbitrator. Her work in litigation, mediation and arbitration offers clients highly-skilled and knowledgeable legal representation throughout the most complicated property divisions.
What is Equitable Distribution of Property?
North Carolina law requires an “equitable division of property” when spouses divorce in North Carolina without a premarital agreement. “Equitable” does not necessarily mean “equal.” However, a spouse who wishes to divide the marital property unequally has the burden of proving to the court that an unequal division is equitable.
Classification of Assets as Marital, Separate or Divisible Property
Before determining what constitutes an equitable distribution of property, all assets and debts must be classified as “marital” or “separate.” This is often a source of disagreement between spouses, and an experienced divorce attorney can assist you in correctly classifying property and debts.
Under North Carolina law, marital property is “all real and personal property acquired by either spouse or both spouses during the course of the marriage and before the date of the separation of the parties, and presently owned, except property determined to be separate property or divisible property.” All property acquired after the date of marriage is presumed to be marital property, unless the spouse claiming it as separate can prove otherwise.
Divisible property includes, but is not limited, to some asset appreciation or passive income from marital property after the date of separation. Net divisible property is also subject to equitable distribution.
Separate property is “real and personal property acquired by a spouse before marriage or acquired by a spouse by devise, descent, or gift during the course of the marriage.” If there is a disagreement, the spouse claiming property as separate has the burden of proving the origin of the property in question.
Contact our Eastern North Carolina Divorce Attorney
As a past president of the North Carolina Chapter of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers (AAML) and Chair of the Family Law Section of the North Carolina Bar Association, Marcia is recognized throughout North Carolina as a leader in family law. Marcia’s vast experience with complex property division offers her clients an advantage in settlement negotiations and at trial.
If you need legal representation for a complex property division, let Marcia be Strong for You. Contact our firm to have our legal staff review your case, or if you are an attorney, Marcia is available to assist in family law cases where an experienced divorce litigator is needed.
