If I live in a community property state AZ is my spouse entitled to half of our joint assets regardless of the cause of divorce?
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If I live in a community property state AZ is my spouse entitled to half of our joint assets regardless of the cause of divorce?
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Asked on July 6, 2016 under Family Law, Arizona
Answers:
B.H.F., Member, Texas State Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 7 years ago | Contributor
Most states have gone to 'no fault' divorces which mean that fault is not as big of an issue as it was twenty plus year ago. Many years ago, if a spouse was guilty of adultery, then the other spouse could easily obtain an uneven division of property. Because of the changing and more liberal changes in society and the increased frequency in marital affairs, fewer and fewer judges award uneven property divisions on these types of causes.
However, this is not an absolute statement. If one spouse defrauds the other spouse (for example, by giving away assets to a boyfriend/girlfriend), then the court can award more than half of the assets to one spouse to make up for the losses. Pre- and post-marital agreements have also have contractual provisions which provide for the uneven division of property.
So... bottom line to your question, is that it is possible to get an uneven distribution. However, it's not a guarantee result if the fault provision are not that eggregious.
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