Tennessee shouldn’t be a neighborhood property state. Because of this throughout divorce proceedings, marital belongings will not be robotically divided equally, 50/50, between the spouses. As a substitute, Tennessee follows the precept of equitable distribution, which goals for a good, however not essentially equal, division of marital property. For instance, if one partner considerably contributed to buying belongings through the marriage whereas the opposite stayed at house to lift kids, a courtroom would possibly award a bigger share of the belongings to the contributing partner, recognizing their monetary contributions, or to the custodial mum or dad, acknowledging their position in childcare.
The significance of understanding property division legal guidelines lies in its potential impression on monetary outcomes following a divorce. Equitable distribution considers quite a few components, together with the financial circumstances of every partner, the contribution of every partner to the acquisition of marital property, the length of the wedding, and the worth of every partner’s separate property. Traditionally, this strategy developed from the common-law system the place possession was usually tied to authorized title, towards a extra nuanced recognition of each financial and non-economic contributions to the marital partnership.