Property and Debt Division

What is Marital Property in Minnesota?

When the court has to settle the property and debt division dispute, they will typically use the state law rules to divide the property. In Minnesota, it doesn’t matter who’s at fault for the end of the marriage, as Minnesota is a no-fault divorce state. Therefore, all assets acquired during the marriage are divided equitably or fairly but are not necessarily divided equally.

What factors decide how property and debt are divided in a divorce?

Minnesota courts look at all of the following factors to decide how to divide marital property:

• Any prior marriages

• Vocational skills, employability, estate, liabilities, needs, the opportunity for future acquisition of capital assets, and income of each spouse

• The contribution of each spouse in the acquisition, preservation, depreciation, or appreciation of the amount or value of the marital property, and

• The contribution of a spouse as a homemaker.

How is debt divided in a divorce?

Minnesota courts aren’t just required to divide assets. In addition, they have to divide up the marital debts. The judge has to decide whether debts are joint or sole. Even if a debt was incurred during the marriage, the judge could still decide that it was a personal debt that benefited only one party, therefore making that party responsible for repaying it. Minnesota judges have a lot of latitude in deciding how to divide debt.