Divorce

If you and your spouse can’t agree on how to divide your property, the judge will divide it using a legal standard called “equitable distribution.” This means the judge will divide it in a way that is fair (equitable), though it may not be exactly equal.¹ 

There are two main steps the judge must take when dividing property:

Step 1: Identify which property is marital and which is separate.¹

• Marital property is the property that belongs to both spouses. To see what Ohio law considers to be marital property, go to What is marital property?
• Separate property is the property that belongs to only one spouse. To see what Ohio law considers to be separate property, go to What is separate property?

Step 2: Divide the marital property fairly.

After completing Step 1, the judge will fairly divide the marital property using the theory of equitable distribution.¹ Fair division usually means dividing property equally, but the judge can decide on a different split if an equal division is unfair. To decide what is fair, the judge looks at several factors, as explained in How will the judge decide what property division is fair? ²

Separate property is usually kept by the spouse who owns it.³

¹ Ohio Rev. Code § 3105.171(B)
² Ohio Rev. Code § 3105.171(C)(1)
³ Ohio Rev. Code § 3105.171(D)