Fairfax Property Division Lawyers
Sound Advice About Marital Property Division in Virginia
An important strength of the divorce practice at MacDowell & Associates is our ability to provide cost-effective solutions to a wide range of property division problems, rather than have a judge decide these issues after extensive litigation.
The attorneys at our firm can help you protect the value of a family business, review the terms of a prenuptial agreement or advise you about the division of marital debts. To learn more about our experience with property division problems in Northern Virginia divorce cases, contact us in Fairfax.
Protect Your Interests in the Marital Estate
Virginia is known as an equitable distribution jurisdiction, which means that instead of assuming marital property should be divided 50/50 between the spouses, the court has wide discretion to divide the divorce assets fairly between the parties. The court's decision will reflect analysis of many factors, such as the length of the marriage, the contribution of each spouse to the family's well being and even the role of either spouse in bringing the marriage to an end.
Most divorcing spouses will be better off by negotiating a division of marital property than they will by letting the court decide between two widely differing proposals. Not only is a negotiated settlement faster, less expensive and more certain, the broad discretion that a family court judge has to decide property division issues can sometimes mean that both parties are disappointed by the result.
Nevertheless, it's sometimes necessary to go to court to get a ruling on difficult questions that can have a major impact on each spouse's financial security:
- Property characterization problems — is a given asset marital property to be divided, separate property that the owner can keep or a hybrid between the two categories?
- Family business problems — sometimes a court order to protect the value of business assets can help preserve the overall value of the marital estate.
- Debt problems - including bankruptcy and mortgage foreclosure.
- Asset and business valuation problems.[ ]
- Value and ownership of assets - such as pensions, 401(k) plans or stock options.
Why Choose MacDowell & Associates?
Our experience with the resolution of property division problems under Virginia law can help people in cases ranging from uncontested divorce to high-stakes property disputes involving affluent parties. Our attention to detail can also make a significant difference in situations where the tax consequences of a given proposal can affect its practical value.
Our family law attorneys advise clients throughout Northern Virginia, including Fairfax County, Alexandria, Arlington and Manassas. To learn how we can advise you on property division issues of any degree of complexity, contact MacDowell & Associates in Fairfax, Virginia.
