Delaware Property Division Laws
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The following is a summary of Delaware property division laws, and is by no means intended to be an all-inclusive description of what to expect in your particular case. In some cases, the exact text of the statute may have been simplified and/or modified to provide for easier understanding. For a more specific understanding of the laws, you should consult the full Delaware Code and/or consult with an attorney about how the law might apply to your particular situation.

Definition of Marital Property.
"Marital property" means all property acquired by either party subsequent to the marriage except:

(1) Property acquired by an individual spouse by bequest, devise or descent or by gift, except gifts between spouses, provided the gifted property is titled and maintained in the sole name of the donee spouse, or a gift tax return is filed reporting the transfer of the gifted property in the sole name of the donee spouse or a notarized document, executed before or contemporaneously with the transfer, is offered demonstrating the nature of the transfer.

(2) Property acquired in exchange for property acquired prior to the marriage;

(3) Property excluded by valid agreement of the parties; and

(4) The increase in value of property acquired prior to the marriage.

All property acquired by either party subsequent to the marriage is presumed to be marital property regardless of how the title is held. The presumption of marital property is overcome by a showing that the property was acquired by a method listed in paragraphs (1) through (4) above.

 

Property Division Guidelines.
Delaware laws allow the court to equitably divide, distribute and assign the marital property between the parties without regard to marital misconduct, in such proportions as the Court deems just after considering all relevant factors including:

(1) The length of the marriage;

(2) Any prior marriage of the party;

(3) The age, health, station, amount and sources of income, vocational skills, employability, estate, liabilities and needs of each of the parties;

(4) Whether the property award is in lieu of or in addition to alimony;

(5) The opportunity of each for future acquisitions of capital assets and income;

(6) The contribution or dissipation of each party in the acquisition, preservation, depreciation or appreciation of the marital property, including the contribution of a party as homemaker, husband, or wife;

(7) The value of the property set apart to each party;

(8) The economic circumstances of each party at the time the division of property is to become effective, including the desirability of awarding the family home or the right to live therein for reasonable periods to the party with whom any children of the marriage will live;

(9) Whether the property was acquired by gift, except those gifts excluded by subsection (b)(1) of this section;

(10) The debts of the parties; and

(11) Tax consequences.

-From § 1513 of the Delaware Code.

 

Learn more about general property division in divorce or common ways to divide your property.

 

If your divorce is uncontested, we would love to guide you through the process from beginning to end. Learn more about how our uncontested divorce services can help you through your divorce.

Other pages on Delaware divorce laws:
General Delaware Divorce Laws
Alimony Divorce Laws in Delaware
Delaware Child Custody Laws
Delaware Child Support Laws
Delaware Laws on Property Division

 

© Help Yourself Divorce 2002-2008

 

IMPORTANT: Help Yourself Divorce is a paralegal service, not a law firm. Please don't rely on this information for legal advice. Seek help from an attorney if you need legal advice.

This information has been summarized from the Delaware statutes. You can find the full-text version of these and other Delaware divorce statutes online here: Delaware Divorce Laws.