Division of Property and Debt

The major distinction when dividing property is determining “Community Property” and “Separate property. Community Property is generally defined as all property acquired after marriage by either husband or wife, or both. Separate property is property owned before marriage or that was acquired afterwards by gift, descent or an award of personal injury damages.

Nevada courts have established that the labor and skills of a spouse are considered to be a community asset and that income generated during the marriage from such labors and skills is considered community property. This becomes an important issue when looking at a business owned either spouse. The community shall receive a fair share of the profits from the business owned during a marriage. If a spouse owned a business before the marriage then the growth or profits of the business during the marriage shall be considered community property.

It should be noted that retirement accounts like a 401(k), IRA or Pension are considered community property. When all property has been established as “Community Property” or “Separate Property” the court will generally rule that each party is to take from the marriage 100% of their separate property and 50% of community property.

How Is Debt Divided?

Debt is handled similar to property. All debt acquired before marriage is labeled separate debt and debt acquired after marriage is considered community debt. Generally speaking neither spouse is responsible for the other spouses separate debt and both parties are jointly liable for the community debt.