Las Vegas Property Division Attorneys

Protecting Your Assets & Rights During Divorce

Property division is often one of the most combative and complex legal processes parties engage in before finalizing the dissolution of their marriage. Having a lawyer who understands the distribution of assets and liabilities is vital if you want to protect your financial and emotional wellbeing post-divorce.

At Bremer Whyte Brown & O'Meara, our Las Vegas property division lawyers have the tools to help you find the best path forward in your property division case.

To schedule a consultation with our team, contact us online or via phone at (702) 297-5750.

Is Nevada an Equitable Distribution or Community Property State?

States in the U.S. tend to handle property division during divorce in one of two ways:

• In equitable distribution states, marital assets and liabilities must be distributed fairly. However, this doesn't necessarily mean marital property must be divided 50/50.
• In community property states, parties own marital assets and liabilities equally, and as such divide them evenly.

Nevada is a community property state, meaning each party owns half of all community property.

What's the Difference Between Separate & Community Property?

During property division, there are two kinds of property:

1. Community property. Community property includes any assets, income, or debts accrued by spouses during their marriage with some exceptions.
2. Separate property. Separate property includes assets, income, and liabilities acquired by each party prior to the marriage.[LU1] Sometimes, property such as gifts intended specifically for one party may also count as separate property.

While spouses in Nevada must divide community property evenly, separate property is ineligible for property division.

However, many Nevadans underestimate what assets and liabilities will be considered community property during their divorce. Frequently, community property includes assets and liabilities such as revenue from a business or credit card debt held under a single name that many would think of as separate property.

Additionally, the community may gain an interest in separate property over time. For example, it's common for courts to acknowledge a community interest in a marital homes that may be the separate property of one party, particularly if both spouses contributed to the house's repairs, maintenance, and expenses such as mortgage payments or renovations throughout the course of their marriage.

Factors That Can Impact Property Division

It's worth noting that property division arrangements often vary on a case-by-case basis, depending on the circumstances.

For example, instead of having a court decide what constitutes an equitable division of community property, spouses can sign a property division agreement detailing how they intend to distribute community assets and liabilities. If the court agrees the agreement is equitable, the spouses can utilize that to decide their property division case instead of relying on the court's judgment. An already implemented premarital or postmarital agreement can also determine how parties divide property during a divorce.

Additionally, parties sometimes try to hide assets during property division cases. If the court discovers that one party hid assets during their property division case, that party may be penalized and receive fewer assets than they otherwise might.

At Bremer Whyte Brown & O'Meara, our Las Vegas property division lawyers understand the property division process in Nevada inside and out. Whether you need help drafting a property division agreement during an amicable divorce or uncovering whether your spouse is hiding assets, we've got you covered.

To schedule a consultation with our team and work with legal counsel you can count on to defend your assets and interests, contact us online or via phone at (702) 297-5750.