When will we need to worry about dividing property in a divorce?
After years of a fruitful relationship and the establishment of a functioning and healthy family, what happens to a third of couples in the State of Israel happens. The parents do not get along. Separation and divorce are inevitable. During their life together, various assets and possessions have been accumulated.
Couples who separate and divorce should not set out on their new path empty-handed. It is not customary to divide children together, but joint property should be divided.
Couples who know how to get along in divorce as well as in cohabitation can and will reach an agreed arrangement for the division of property according to the “half and half” principle without reservations or petty calculations. It is likely that even with regard to assets brought into the relationship before marriage, the familiar and annoying argument, “I made the money and you burned it on an endless shopping spree at the malls,” will not be raised.
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Even without Agreement Finance Can they reach an equal and fair division of property? The question at hand is, how many such couples are there? Very few, if any.
For the vast majority who find themselves in need of dividing property following a divorce, we will detail the rules for division, according to which key it is divided. Who takes what, is there a situation where one takes everything and the other is left naked?
What is actually the common property?
The joint property accumulated during the course of living together generally includes the following items: a residential house/apartment, its contents, additional investments in real estate, bank deposits, checking and foreign currency accounts, stocks, mutual funds, a continuing education fund, provident funds, pension funds, executive insurance, Businesses and jointly established companies Or separately by one of the spouses within the years of the relationship.
Guiding principles for the method of distribution
At a fundamental and basic level, property accumulated jointly during the course of marriage will be divided equally between the spouses following a divorce, without regard to the fact in whose name the property intended for distribution is registered.
Property brought by one of the spouses into the partnership and marriage, gifts and inheritances received and given during the marriage, a benefit paid to one of the spouses by the National Insurance Institute, or a benefit or compensation awarded or due by statute to one of the spouses due to bodily injury or death, assets that the spouses have agreed in writing that their values will not be equalized between them, are not subject to division according to the same basic principle.
However, there may be cases in which one party claims his share of the joint property and the other party opposes him, claiming that the property was his, even before the marriage. The party claiming his share will demand proof that the opposing party had the intention of sharing the property in his name even before the marriage.
For example: in a residential apartment that was owned by one of the spouses before the marriage. The apartment remained in his name.
During their life together, the couple declared their intention to sell the apartment in the future and, in return for its sale, to add joint savings over the years, which were achieved through joint effort, in order to move to a more spacious apartment as the family expanded.
The same approach applies to gifts and inheritances given during the marriage.
This is in fact the presumption of partnership. Each party contributes his share to the well-being of the family and the accumulation of its assets, and when the need arises to divide the property, he buys himself a right in that partnership that is dissolved and divided.
Debts They are additional property that must be divided following a divorce, provided that the debts were accumulated while conducting business together during the marriage.
If it is proven that the spouse has accumulated debts due to gambling, criminal offenses, payments to a mistress, or any debt that arose without the spouse’s knowledge and participation, the other party cannot be required to share in debts to which he is not a partner.
Timing of property distribution
Spouses cannot divide property on a whim, because that’s what they feel like. Property accumulated during the marriage and registered to one spouse will be divided following divorce and the termination of the marriage or the death of one of the spouses.
This is actually a balance of resources as determined within the framework Law Financial Relations.
In these cases and according to the provisions of Section 5 of the law, each party is entitled to half the value of all assets. According to the provisions of the Nenikashvili rule (A.A. 5598/94) Balancing resources is done not only in positive assets, but also in negative assets, such as debts incurred by the spouses during the marriage.
In exceptional cases, the court has the authority to determine that the division will not be equal.
Spouses who married before January 1974, the date the Financial Relations Law came into effect and which does not bind them, can demand the division of joint property at any time and regardless of the end of the marriage following divorce or death.
If the property is registered in the names of both spouses, a lawsuit can be filed by agreement to dissolve the partnership in an apartment or commercial company that is jointly owned, regardless of the end of the marriage, for reasons of Divorce Or death.
The authority to approve a process
The Rabbinical Court and the Family Court are the courts for hearing and deciding on the question of property division. If a divorce claim was filed with the Rabbinical Court and, as part of it, a claim for property was made, then the authority to decide on the claim is given exclusively to the Rabbinical Court. For the house Rabbinical law.
On the other hand, if a claim for the division of property in a divorce was filed first At home Family Law The lawsuit will be heard there and the Rabbinical Court has no authority to intervene.
Since the involvement of legal bodies is required, it is highly recommended that the couple use the services of Lawyers specializing in family law Or contact a mediator who has gained skill and experience in all matters related to the division of property in these circumstances. Each of them will help the couple prepare an inventory, map the assets, perform valuations and draft an agreement that will serve the parties faithfully.
Different and unequal distribution
The Family Court is given special authority to exercise discretion to achieve a just balance of resources between the parties, with flexibility and consideration for considerations of justice and fairness.
These considerations can also lead to the court’s decision to order an unequal distribution of property.
According to Section 8 of the Financial Relations Law, these are the circumstances under which the division will not be equal: the potential for accumulating future assets of the spouses, current and future earning capacity, determining the value of the assets according to a date earlier than that requested, reference to assets that the spouses had at a date prior to the balancing of the resources in question.
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Do you have a company or business together? – How do couples who want to divorce divide a joint company or business? What does the law state on this matter?
Division of property
Dividing property in a divorce is a complex issue, especially when there are many assets, tangible and intangible, according to the ruling. In order not to be disadvantaged, and so that the divorce does not cause severe financial damage, It is recommended to seek the help of skilled professionals – whom you can find at the Sharon Segal Law Firm..
Division of property in a divorce with children
- Financial agreement – When there is a financial agreement, it prevails over all sections of the law, and the manner of division of property is determined according to it. This is also the reason for the recommendation to draw up such an agreement before any marriage, so that you can know in advance, with certainty, how your property will be divided.
- Divorce agreement – Spouses who wish to separate without exhausting struggles and wasting valuable time can sign a divorce agreement that will naturally also include reference to the issue of joint property. The goal will be maximum fairness, and the emphasis is on practical solutions and not necessarily adherence to absolute precision in the division.
- The rule of sharing – The law states that all property jointly owned by the spouses known to the public will be divided equally, that is, 50% to each party, in order to create a balance. At the same time, the law allows a family court to determine another arrangement, not necessarily equal, depending on the specific circumstances of each case. Another issue is which assets are included in the joint property and which belong to each party separately, and is particularly relevant to property from before the marriage, gifts received by one of the spouses, and inheritances. In such cases, the involvement of an experienced lawyer is critical.
- The welfare of the children – Another important issue is the apartment used for living. If the best interests of the children require them to remain in the apartment, the court may order that it not be sold as part of the effort to balance resources, but will establish another arrangement that leaves the apartment in the ownership of the custodial parent.
Avoid financial harm
The legal treatment of the issue of property division in divorce may include another sensitive issue, which is attempts to smuggle assets, that is, to hide them from the other party so that there is no need to divide them. The Sharon Segal Law Firm has accumulated a lot of experience in this specific issue as well, and in general, the team of lawyers at the firm is responsible for fully protecting the financial interests of clients. The treatment includes formulating creative solutions in complicated cases, and if necessary, determined representation in family court.
