In Georgia, when the parties to a divorce cannot come to an agreement on how to divide their property, the Superior Court presiding over the divorce takes an approach known as equitable division. Property is classified into one of three categories--separate, marital or mixed.

Separate

Separate property is property owned by one spouse prior to marriage or acquired during marriage individually by gift or inheritance.

Marital

Marital property is all property that does not fall under the category of separate property. Marital property typically includes, among other things, money, homes, vehicles, clothing, assets, liabilities, good will, judgments from lawsuits and pensions.

Mixed

Some property may be deemed mixed property because it is both separate and marital. Typically this involves property that was purchased in part with money that was the separate property of one spouse and in part with marital funds. According to Charles R. Adams, a lawyer who has practiced family law in Georgia for 26 years, in these cases the court will determine what portion of the property is separate and give that spouse 100 percent value for that portion and then divide what remains of the property equally between both spouses.

Value

Each party must prove how much each piece of property is worth as well as how it was acquired--i.e., separate or marital. According to Adams, this typically involves the use of appraisal expert witnesses.

Distribution

The court cannot transfer title to property from one spouse to the other. What it does instead is award money to one party to compensate him for the other party keeping property that is deemed marital. Thus, each party receives his separate property plus an equal dollar-value share of the marital property.

Source:

Charles R. Adams, III, JD; Family Lawyer; Fort Valley, Georgia

Divorcelawinfo.com: Georgia Marital Property Law

DivorceSupport.com: Georgia Property Division Factors