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Does the duration of marriage impact a divorce settlement?

On Behalf of | Jan 12, 2021 | Divorce

Although divorce can be a difficult period for you, you need to understand some basics that will save you many investments. The length of your marriage before a divorce is one of the important things considered by a court. In California, once you acquire property during the marriage, it’s known as community property. The length of your marriage aids in spousal support and determines how marital property will be divided. The longer the duration of the marriage, the more the property you will receive after divorce. The theory applied is that since you’ve been married for a while, you’ve had time to accumulate your wealth.

Dividing marital property in a divorce

As mentioned, the length of marriage affects the amount of property that each spouse will be awarded. For marriages that have lasted for long, most courts consider a 50/50 split on assets. However, there are long-term marriages where one spouse has entirely depended on the other for sustenance. In such a situation, the courts always consider the spouse who is earning less. The spouse will have a higher percentage of the marital property. Thus, both spouses will have equal financial positions.

For marriages that have lasted fewer than 25 years, courts always decide on a disproportional split of property. This may be as a result of uneven income between the spouses. Marriages that have lasted for fewer than six years have a different fate. In such cases, there is a proportional division of property that is jointly owned.

Property division issues

Long-term marriages have more economic disparity since both spouses have supported each other in building their wealth. Thus, a court may order lifetime support for the spouse with low or no income. During the divorce hearing for short-term marriages, judges rarely award support. However, temporal spousal maintenance is considered.

Are you going through a divorce? Contact an attorney for more guidance about how the length of the marriage will affect your divorce.