Most Pennsylvanians think that each spouse in a divorce has an attorney and that the outcome will be decided by a judge in a court of law. Typically, this is the most costly type of divorce, because expenses can quickly escalate in such a contest.

Often, a married couple who would like to divorce find themselves naturally steering toward an expensive divorce contest because they simply are not aware of the alternatives to contested divorce. One of the most affordable alternatives is the uncontested divorce, in which the spouses themselves settle the core issues, including property and child custody matters. Then one of them hires an attorney to handle the necessary paperwork. The cost of an uncontested divorce is typically a small fraction of the cost of a contested divorce.

Consensus between spouses is a crucial requirement for being able to obtain an uncontested divorce. One of the largest obstacles to reaching that consensus is often disagreement over property issues. With that in mind, we'd like to provide some basic information on marital property issues.

Generally, assets a spouse obtains before the marriage and brings into the marriage are considered to be separate property, while assets obtained during the marriage are considered to be shared marital property.

Marital property is subject to being divided during a divorce. Separate property is typically not subject to division in a divorce, but there are some exceptions to this general rule. For example, if a home or business that was separately owned by one of the spouses before the marriage increases in value during the course of the marriage, the other spouse could assert that he or she contributed to the increased value of such separate property and could claim some of that increased value.

Division of debt often operates in the same manner. Generally, whether a debt is separate or marital depends on whether the debt was acquired before or during the marriage.

If you have a question about marital property and debt division, an experienced divorce attorney can help you understand your legal rights and obligations.

Source: The Times Herald, "Love vs. debt: How a spouse's finances affect you," 2/11/2011