Marital Property Becomes an Issue in Many Divorces

Divorce can be one of the most difficult times in a person's life. For many couples, one of the main complications of divorce arises from property division. In Georgia, if each of the spouses is unable to reach an agreement on how to divide their marital property, a court must decide the division based on an equitable distribution standard. One former heavyweight boxer may be facing this issue while balancing child support payments in a few states, including Georgia.

Evander Holyfield recently ended his marriage to his wife of nine years. In addition to his divorce, which was finalized in July, Holyfield has also struggled financially. JPMorgan Chase bought Holyfield's mansion earlier this year. The mansion had been in and out of foreclosure. It has also been reported that later this year, Holyfield will be auctioning many of his belongings, such as the rings and belts from his winnings. Holyfield has 12 children and he has attempted to modify his child support payments in Georgia, California and Texas.

Marital property is defined as items that spouses obtain throughout the marriage. This includes homes and properties, incomes, bank accounts and debts acquired during the marriage. Nonmarital property is defined as items that each spouse had before entering into marriage. Gifts and inheritances are also considered nonmarital property. In some circumstances, a nonmarital asset can also be converted into a marital asset if the nonmarital asset is commingled with assets acquired in the marriage.

For divorcing couples, the easiest way to handle property division is to come to an agreement that is in the best interest of each party. However, this does not always occur. In Georgia, a court may be able to ease the divorce process by equitably dividing the marital property.