Iowa Property Division | IA Settling Disputes for Marital and Non-Marital Divorce Assets and Debts

When a couple gets a divorce, they have to go from a married couple to 2 single individuals. This is a large, complicated undertaking. One important task the court must perform in settling a divorce is Iowa property division.

Anyone facing a divorce should at a minimum receive guidance from a licensed Family Law attorney in his/her state. Property division laws can be confusing, vary from state to state and lawyers have the proper training/experience to tell the judge what a divorcing spouse wants and/or needs from the property division.

Property Division Divorce Laws in Iowa

The purpose of Iowa property division laws is to make sure that marital property is allocated to each spouse equitably. Iowa marital property is divided under the considerations of Iowa Code §598.21(5) but the trial court judge receives great discretion when converting Iowa marital property into separate Iowa divorce property.

Iowa is an equitable distribution state. This means that with regard to Iowa divorce assets, anything the spouses brought into a marriage usually will not be included in Iowa divorce assets or Iowa divorce property. The only property that comes into the court's distribution is that which is legally classified as property of the marriage subject to Iowa Code §598.21(5).

However separate & non-marital property, inheritances and gifts may be included in property division under Iowa Code §598.21(6) if the trial judge feels this is necessary to make each spouse whole after the divorce.

What is considered Marital and Non-Marital Property?

Marital property consists of all items acquired during the marriage by either spouse as well as separate items that were brought into a marriage and converted into marital property.

Non-marital property is generally defined as that each spouse had before the marriage as well as property acquired individually that was never included in the marital property. Under §598.21(6), non-marital property consists of:

Gifts
Inheritances

Dividing Assets and Debt

After the court decides which property is available for distribution, the next step is property valuation. The final step is the allocation of marital property.

Under Iowa Code §598.21(5), the court considers a number of factors in dividing assets and debt. Some of these are:

The marriage's length
The parties' age & health
The property each party brought into the marriage
The parties' circumstances
The contributions of one party to the education, training or increased earning power of the other

Using statutory factors, judges decide how a marriage's assets should be divided. Here is a list of the most common property items and the most common allocation scheme used.

Cash: Divided equitably among the spouses.
- Example 1: A joint savings account has $8,000. The court would most likely award $4,000 to each spouse.
- Example 2: A joint savings account has $6,000. One spouse contributed $4,000 and the other contributed $2,000. The amount may be divided in a 50-50 split or may be more balanced if the $2,000 contributor has fewer assets than the $4,000 contributor.
Retirement Plans: Divided based on the duration of the marriage at the time the benefits accrued, looking at the present value of the plan and/or survivor benefits.
- Example 1: A spouse got benefits in a retirement plan after working for 25 years andwas married for 15 of those years. The ex-spouse would be entitled to a portion of the retirement plan that was acquired during the marriage.
- Example 2: A spouse has an unvested retirement plan. No division takes place until the plan is payable to the spouse who has it. However, the plan is part of the property division since the relevant portion is marital property.
Vehicles: Divided based on the values at the date of trial. May be sold or given to a spouse outright.
- Example 1: A spouse's truck is not operational. The truck may be sold with the proceeds to be given to a poorer spouse or divided among the spouses in some other way.
- Example 2: A car has a shared title. The car may be sold with the proceeds in a 50-50 split or the car may be given to a poorer spouse.
Insurance: Determined based upon each spouse's health, availability of alternate insurance and premium payments from marital income.
- Example 1: One spouse has covered the other under employer health insurance. The other spouse is in poor health and could not afford alternate health care coverage. The court may order the first spouse to continue covering that spouse for a set time period and/or award a cash payment to the ailing spouse to get new coverage.
- Example 2: One spouse has a life insurance policy where the ex-spouse is to get survivor benefits. If marital income was used to make payments on the insurance, the spouse may be entitled to a portion of the benefits.

Settling Disputes in a Divorce Case with Property and Asset Division

Under Iowa Code §598.21(7), property division orders may not be modified. However, a spouse could go back to court to get the order enforced if necessary.

The trial court's determinations will not be changed by a higher court unless the division was clearly unjust.

Help From an Iowa Property Divorce Lawyer

Retaining an Iowa property divorce lawyer is key to getting the fairest result in the property division phase of a divorce. The lawyer can provide professional guidance, inform you of likely outcomes and help you present the best arguments and presentation to the trial judge handling the divorce.

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