Is the division of property always fifty-fifty? What factors are considered in an unequal distribution of property?
Equitable distribution law presumes that an equal (50/50) division of the marital property will be equitable. Most judges in this state favor awarding each party fifty percent of the marital property will be equitable. Most judges in this state favor awarding each party fifty percent of the marital property, unless certain factors make a good case for an unequal distribution. There are a number of so-called “equitable distribution factors” in our equitable distribution statute that can justify a judge’s unequal (non-50/50) distribution of marital property. The trial court is only required to consider the distributional factors on which evidence is presented. The factors to be considered in an unequal division are enumerated in section 50-20(c) at sub-sections (1) through (12) of the North Carolina General Statutes, and these factors include: the parties’ financial condition at the time the division of property would be effective; support obligations from a prior marriage; length of thi
