Equitable Division of Marital Property: Tycoon Style

[Photo of Oil Tycoon Harold Hamm from wikipedia]

According to various news reports, oil tycoon Harold Hamm, one of the wealthiest people in the United States, with over $11 billion in Continental Resources oil company stock, may face an equitable division of his wealth, and potential loss of control of his company, following reports that his wife of 25 years, Sue Ann Hamm, has filed for divorce.

As any reader of this divorce blog knows, in the State of Georgia, judges will generally make an equitable division of all marital property. And "equitable" does not always mean equal. In short, in some divorce cases we have seen, (as Augusta, Georgia divorce lawyers), if fault grounds, such as adultery, are proven, then one party may end up with more than one-half of the marital property.

Of course, no one knows the facts or what may happen in the Hamm divorce. But no matter how you slice it, Mr. Hamm will still be left with a sizable estate.

How To Deal With The Marital Home In A Divorce

Since I began this week with a joke about how to deal with a marital home in a divorce, I thought that maybe this next post should focus on some real, practical tips for you to discuss about this topic with your own Georgia divorce lawyer.

First of all, this discussion assumes that we are referring to marital property; that is, a home acquired during the marriage and not as a result of an inheritance by one of the parties in the divorce.

Second, here are a couple of practical tips to consider: If the marital home is in both names, but one of you wants to keep it, then it is important that you consider how to get it out of the other party's name. In other words, it generally would be unfair, if one party is going to keep the home, for the other party to have their credit tied up over the next 20 or so years until the mortgage is paid off. Therefore, you should discuss with your divorce attorney the idea of including in a settlement agreement, (or arguing before a judge), a provision requiring the party who is keeping the house to refinance, (and get the mortgage/property out of the other side's name), within a specified period of time. Also, while that party is refinancing, they may also be able to borrow money to cover the other party's share of any equity, if that is appropriate. Finally, you should also discuss with your own divorce lawyer the idea that, if the other party does not, or cannot, refinance within the specified time, then the house probably must be listed and sold.

Again, every divorce is different. So, please discuss all these issues about equitable division of marital property with your own divorce lawyer.

I hope this post gave you some good practical information and tips! But I think we will both agree that it wasn't as funny as the divorce "joke of the day!" Have a nice weekend!