Do Women Always Get More in Dovirce?

It is a common myth... woman get more in divorce. Is it true though? Under the law, the answer is no- the law is not set up to provide more for women in a divorce. In fact, the law is set up to ensure equitable and even distribution of assets.

Does a Woman Get More in Divorce?

For a long time, many people believed that a woman got more in a divorce. This was in part because women were frequently awarded alimony or permitted to keep the family house. However, the purpose of alimony is to allow a divorcing spouse to continue living a lifestyle similar to that of the life he or she lived in marriage. In other words, courts don't want a person trapped in a marriage because of financial need or dependence on their spouses income. While women for much of history primarily made less income or didn't work, alimony can actually be awarded to either spouse- and is sometimes awarded to the man in a divorce situation in cases where the woman is the high income earner.

The law as far as distribution of assets and property is designed, in most states, to ensure fairness and equality among the sexes. In community property states, for example, each spouse is entitled to 50 percent of all marital assets. This means any money made when the two were married, any property bought during the marriage or any assets acquired are assumed to belong equally to both spouses. The only exceptions to the 50-50 distribution are things brought into the marriage, inheritances and judgments from personal injury cases- unless those things are mixed with community property or assets, at which point they are split 50-50 too.

In other states, equitable distribution of assets is appropriate. This means the court will look at what the couple has and divide it fairly. This is not an income based calculation alone. If a wife stayed home to raise the children, this contribution will be considered and she will be financially compensated for making this choice.

Getting Legal Help

One of the best ways to ensure that the assets in a divorce are divided fairly and that it won't necessarily be true that the woman get more in divorce, is to hire a divorce attorney to represent your interests. A divorce lawyer can help you and your spouse to reach an amicable financial settlement together or can represent you in court if a judge must divide assets because you can't agree.

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