How equitable distribution works
Florida's equitable distribution statute, Fla. Stat. § 61.075, directs courts to begin with the premise that marital assets and debts should be divided equally, and to depart from an equal split only where specific factors justify it — things like each spouse's contributions to the marriage, economic circumstances, interruption of a career or education, and intentional waste of marital assets. In practice, most cases are not fights about the percentage. They are fights about the two questions that come first: what is marital, and what is it worth.
Marital or nonmarital? The classification fight
Marital property generally includes everything either spouse acquired during the marriage — regardless of whose name is on it — plus the growth of nonmarital assets that either spouse's labor or marital money enhanced. Nonmarital property includes what each spouse brought into the marriage, inheritances and gifts received individually, and assets excluded by a valid prenuptial or postnuptial agreement.
The line blurs fast in real life. An inheritance deposited into the joint account and spent alongside paychecks may become marital through commingling. A house owned before the marriage but paid down and renovated with marital earnings develops a marital component. A small business started before the wedding but built during the marriage is often part nonmarital, part marital — and untangling which part is which is exactly the kind of tracing work that decides these cases.
The assets that need the most care
- The marital home. Sell now, buy out, or defer sale while children finish school — each path has costs (and refinancing realities) that should be priced before it's chosen.
- Retirement accounts and pensions. The marital share of a 401(k), pension, or FRS account is divisible, but dividing it correctly usually requires a qualified domestic relations order (QDRO) — a separate order with drafting traps of its own. Done wrong, it triggers taxes; done late, benefits can be lost.
- Businesses and professional practices. Valuation is the battleground: goodwill, owner compensation, and cash flow all get argued. Shelley builds these cases with supportable valuations rather than wishful ones — they settle better and try better.
- Debts. Distribution covers liabilities too: mortgages, cards, taxes, and the occasional surprise. And a judgment assigning a joint debt to your ex does not bind the lender — protecting your credit takes drafting, not just dividing.
Timing, disclosure, and dissipation
Classification and valuation each have cut-off dates the statute defines — typically tied to the filing date or a settlement date — and those dates can move outcomes on volatile assets. Both spouses owe complete financial disclosure under the family law rules, and hiding assets is both harder and more expensive than people imagine: courts can reopen judgments obtained by concealment and can charge wasted or dissipated assets against the spouse who spent them. If you suspect money is moving before a filing, the time to act is now, not after it's gone.
Key law: Fla. Stat. § 61.075 (equitable distribution); Fla. Fam. L. R. P. 12.285 (mandatory disclosure).
Common questions about property division
No. Title doesn't control classification — property acquired during the marriage is generally marital no matter whose name it carries. What matters is when and how the asset was acquired and what funds built it.
Florida is an equitable distribution state that starts from equal. Courts presume an equal division of marital property is fair and depart only with justification tied to the statutory factors. So: usually close to 50/50 of the marital estate — but what counts as the marital estate is where the case is really decided.
You share in the marital portion — the part earned during the marriage. Contributions and growth from before the wedding stay nonmarital. The split is then implemented by QDRO or plan-specific order; for military retirements, federal rules add another layer (see military divorce).
Yes. Courts can treat intentionally dissipated funds as if the spending spouse already received them — their share of the split shrinks accordingly — and standing court orders restrict major financial moves once a case is filed. Documentation is everything: statements, dates, and amounts turn suspicion into a remedy.
An inheritance or a gift to you individually is nonmarital — if it stayed separate. Deposit it into the joint account, retitle it jointly, or use it interchangeably with marital funds, and it can convert. If keeping an inheritance separate matters to you, keep it literally separate, and talk to counsel before moving it anywhere.
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