The Legal Issues 125
You and your spouse can decide how to divide your marital
property and belongings. Theoretically, at least in an uncontested
divorce, you can divide the property any way you like—even if
the division is not equal. The court generally prefers equitable
settlements, however, so you must be prepared to explain to the
court’s satisfaction any major inequities in the settlement.
If you and your spouse cannot agree, then the divorce gener-
ally turns contested and the court must decide how to divide
your assets. Unless there are unusual circumstances, your belong-
ings generally will be divided evenly. However, the court may not
split the ownership of each individual item of your belongings
between you and your spouse; instead, it may give each of you
things of equal value. For example, if your spouse gets the fur-
niture and appliances, you may get the family car, or something
else of equivalent value.
You should be aware of the fact that once the court approves the
property settlement to which you and your spouse have agreed,
you usually cannot make changes unless both spouses agree in
writing and the court approves.
Real Property
I am a marvelous housekeeper. Every time I leave a man, I keep his house.
—Zsa Zsa Gabor
Often your house will be the most valuable single item of marital
property you and your spouse own. In my hometown, Honolulu,
all of one’s other possessions added together seldom equal the
value of their house. I suspect this has become true in many other
parts of the country, as well.
Moving on from the marital residence. If you and your spouse own
a jointly titled home or other real property, or if it has been paid
for (or improved) with funds earned during the marriage, then
the marital estate probably has an interest in it. You must now
decide how to divide it. Some of the likely alternatives are: (1) sell
the home and split the proceeds; (2) have one spouse transfer it
outright to the other; or (3) have one spouse transfer it to the other
in return for something else (such as a cash buyout, or the waiver