Law Office of Joanne Kleiner

equitable distribution

Jun 22

Can I File for Divorce in the Same State as my Vacation Home?

Can I File for Divorce in a Different State?

In the United States, 16.3 out of every 1,000 women got married in 2019, but 7.6 out of every 1,000 women got a divorce. Many people are as a result turning to a divorce lawyer for information about the process, because it comes with a lot of questions, like where you must legally bring the action.

Determining Where You Can File for Divorce

Some people may want to file for divorce in the state where their vacation homes are located because they wish to be in a state where they may be favored when it comes time to divide the marital assets. For example, Pennsylvania is a state where the courts divide marital assets by the process known as equitable distribution. What this means is that a court will base the decision on what it deems to be fair, which does not necessarily mean equal.

In community property states, each spouse may be able to designate some property as separate property, but the marital property will be considered to be community property. The court may divide this property evenly between the two spouses, and this may benefit the spouse with less separate property.

Residency Requirements

The purpose of residency requirements is to prevent the scenario described above from occurring. Most states require that couples set up residence in the state in which they plan to file for divorce. They may also need to meet a county residency requirement, but this will be shorter than the state requirement. You will also need to live in the location on a continuous basis to establish residency.

If your vacation home is in a community property state where it would benefit you to reside, you may wish to meet the residency requirements and file there.

Domicile Rather Than Residency

Your residence is the place where you receive mail, register to vote, and where you own, lease or rent your home. Your company may be in the location of this home, and you may have registered your vehicles and registered to vote in the area. This is evidence that the property is your residence.

Domicile means that you are physically located in the state. It also means that you intend to live there on an ongoing basis but that you are not required to remain there forever. Some states use the word “domicile” rather than residency for divorce proceedings.

The Right of Jurisdiction

Before the courts can decide how much marital property each spouse may receive, it must demonstrate that it has jurisdiction over the matter. The divorce petition is the document that states that the spouse meets the requirements for residency, and this provides the state with jurisdiction. Once the court serves the other spouse with the divorce papers, it has jurisdiction over this spouse as well. After this occurs, the filing spouse may leave the state if the couple doesn’t have any children.

Length of Time

If your vacation home is located in one of 26 states, you must establish residency for six months if you want to divorce in that state. Nevada requires one of the shortest residencies. If your vacation home is in Nevada, you will only need to reside there for six weeks. If your vacation home is in Washington, Alaska, or South Dakota, you aren’t required to establish residency. The remaining states have residency requirements of between 60 and 90 days.

Two extreme cases are Connecticut and New York. If your vacation home is in Connecticut, you will need to establish a domicile for a full 365 days. If you and your spouse did not get married in New York, you will need to live in the state for two years before you can file for divorce.

How Do Courts Determine Domicile?

Courts determine domicile by examining where the family lives, where the adults vote, where the vehicles are registered, and where they obtained their licenses to drive. Where they work and whether or not they are engaged in the community also add weight to the issue.

If you are in need of a divorce lawyer, contact us at the Law Office of Joanne Kleiner. We are located in Jenkintown, Pennsylvania, and we can be reached at (215) 886-1266.

Nov 24

Marital Property Laws That You Should Be Aware Of

What You Should Know About Division of Property When Divorcing

When you’re about to file for a divorce, one factor that you’ll need to take into account is how the property is going to be divided. The divorce rate for Pennsylvania in 2016 was at 2.6 divorces for every 1,000 people, which is a number that has remained consistent over the past decade. If you are looking to file for a divorce and would like some advice on what the process is like, call our family lawyers today to get started.

What Constitutes Marital Property?

Marital property in the state of Pennsylvania refers to any asset that was acquired during the marriage by either party. Any item that was acquired between the first day of your marriage and the first day of your separation would be considered marital property. Non-marital property includes:

  • Items that were acquired before the marriage by either spouse
  • Assets that were acquired by inheritance or gift at any point before or during the marriage, which does not include gifts that were provided to one spouse from the other
  • Assets that were acquired following the separation

Even though these are the general guidelines that determine what constitutes marital property, the court typically has the final say.

How Marital Property Is Divided During a Divorce

Married couples who are divorcing have the option to create an agreement on how they would best like to divide their property, which is referred to as a property settlement agreement. This agreement is then provided to the court, after which a judge will place the agreement into their final decision on the divorce. Although the court takes these agreements into consideration, they aren’t always ironclad. Couples who are unable to agree on how to divide their marital property may have their case taken to the court.

One of the largest components that determine how property is divided is the value of the property and assets. The married couple will need to identify how much these assets are worth before going forward with an agreement. The worth of an asset is directly impacted by a variety of factors, the primary of which is the current and fair market value of the item. The fair market value refers to how much money that you could receive at the current time when selling one of these assets, which can include vehicles and homes.

Court Considerations for Marital Property During a Divorce

Unless you have a prenuptial agreement in place prior to the marriage that identifies how marital property will be divided, the court will take a wide range of considerations into account when determining how to divide the property. The term used by the courts is equitable distribution, which means that the division of the property will be fair to both parties. Some of the main factors that are considered by the courts include:

  • How long the marriage lasted
  • The vocational skills each spouse has and their ability to obtain employment
  • The education, sources of income, age, and health of each spouse
  • Whether or not each spouse has been previously married
  • The number of assets, needs, and debts that each spouse has

These are just a small number of the various considerations that might be taken into account by the courts. Everything from the reduction in value of marital assets to the standard of living that each spouse expects will also be taken into account. One factor that isn’t considered by the courts in Pennsylvania is marital misconduct. However, if the misconduct caused major financial issues with the value of any marital property, it may be taken into consideration. If you have any questions about how the courts divide marital property, our family lawyers are here to answer them.

If you’re seeking a divorce and you would like some assistance with the finer details of your case, call one of our family lawyers today at our practice in Jenkintown at (215) 886-1266.