Division of Property - Where the Line Runs Between "Mine" and "Ours", and Who Has to Prove It
A property division dispute rarely concerns what the law says; the law is simple: what was acquired during the marriage is joint and is split in half. The dispute is about what was "acquired" during the marriage and what was a gift, an inheritance or bought with pre-marital money; how much a business is worth when the other spouse cannot see its books; and who keeps a debt one spouse took on without asking the other.
This page describes how a property case is won: how the source of funds is proved, how a business and a mortgaged flat are valued and divided, when the court sets unequal shares, how the sale of assets is stopped during proceedings, and how a lawyer protects the spouse whose name is not on the title, or, conversely, the spouse who built the assets before the marriage.
Updated · Practice area: Family lawyer
Types of Property and the Division Rule - From a Flat to Cryptocurrency
One principle, that what is acquired in marriage is joint, works differently for different types of asset. The table shows where the typical point of dispute lies.
A Property Case - From Inventory to Registration
A full inventory of assets
Everything acquired from the day of marriage to the day of divorce: registry extracts in both names, bank accounts, companies, vehicles, debts. The lawyer formalises a request for information from the other side by court order; "I do not know what they have" is the starting point of the case, not an obstacle.
Proving or rebutting the source of funds
To rebut the presumption, a spouse must prove the asset was bought with personal money: a pre-marital deposit statement, a gift agreement, a certificate of inheritance, the movement of funds from account to account. The lawyer assembles that chain in documents, or, for the other side, looks for the gaps in it.
Valuation
Real estate and cars by an independent appraiser; a business by an audit valuation that looks not only at the balance sheet but at real turnover, contracts and assets. Where valuations conflict, the court appoints an expert; the lawyer drafts the questions to the expert.
Attachment and freezing disposals
As interim security: attachment of real estate and shares in the registry, freezing of bank accounts, a ban on disposing of the car, immediately on filing and before the other side learns of it. In a property case this step often decides more than the trial itself.
Recovering what has already been transferred
Joint property transferred by one spouse without the other's consent: an action to void the transaction if the buyer knew or should have known of the lack of consent; or the value of the transferred asset counted against the transferring spouse's share. A "gift" to a relative just before separation is a typical and recoverable case.
Form of division and registration
A settlement deed or a judgment naming the specific assets, the amount of compensation and the deadlines; registration in the registry, re-registration of the loan with the bank, a change in the company's shareholding. The lawyer follows the division through to registration of title.
When Property Is Not Split in Half - and Why Infidelity Is Not a Reason
Equal shares are the starting point, not an absolute. The court may increase one spouse's share in the interests of minor children: children who stay with that spouse need a home. And it may reduce the share of a spouse who spent joint property to the family's detriment, through gambling, hiding assets or unjustified disposals, or who did not work without good reason and did not contribute to the family income.
What does not change the shares: infidelity, bad behaviour, "who is to blame" for the divorce. Property division is not a question of fault, and a lawyer who builds the case on morally discrediting the spouse wastes time. Housework and raising children count as contribution to the family income; a spouse's share is not reduced because they had no salary.
The second important departure is property acquired after actual separation: the court may treat it as personal if the separation and separate households are proved. A long separation without a formal divorce is a risk for both: one may claim a share in the other's new flat, the other may be saddled with half the debts.
Dividing Debts and the Numbers a Property Case Turns On
- Joint debt
- A debt taken on for the family's needs (mortgage, car loan, renovation, a child's education) is joint and is halved, whatever name is on the contract. For the creditor, though, the debtor remains whoever signed; the division does not bind the bank.
- Personal debt
- A debt one spouse took on for personal purposes (gambling, a business risk without the other's involvement, a pre-marital debt) stays personal. Contested: a loan taken "for the family" whose money never reached the family.
- 3 years
- Limitation for a property division claim, running not from the divorce but from the day a spouse learned their right was infringed (for example, the ex-spouse started selling the flat). Division is possible without divorce, even during the marriage.
- Court fee 3%
- A percentage of the value of the disputed property, with a minimum and a maximum. The lawyer often values the claim at the claimant's share rather than the whole estate, and asks for deferral of the fee.
- Valuation date
- Property is generally valued as at the time of division (the judgment), not acquisition. In a period of rising prices this makes a material difference, and the lawyer's argument on the valuation date matters.
What to Collect Before Property Division - Before the Documents "Get Lost"
- Registry extracts for every property and company share in both spouses' names, now, before anything changes.
- Acquisition documents: purchase agreements, payment receipts, bank transfers; from whose account and when.
- The chain of the source of funds for personal property: a pre-marital deposit, a gift, an inheritance, and its movement up to the purchase.
- Loan agreements, repayment schedules, the balance as at the separation date, in both names.
- Business documents: charter, balance sheet, tax returns, contracts, an asset list, as far as available.
- Evidence of the separation date and a separate list of what was acquired after it.
Three Property Division Cases
A flat in the father-in-law's name
The flat was bought during the marriage with joint income but registered to the husband's father. Lawyer for the wife: transfers from the joint account to the seller, messages about "our flat", actual occupation, the father-in-law's lack of income. The court found the owner to be a nominee and divided the flat as joint property.
A business "worth nothing"
The husband's company showed a loss on paper but had 15 employees and contracts. Lawyer: an audit valuation based on turnover and the contract portfolio, bank statements by court order, cars on the company's books in personal use. Compensation of half the share's value, in instalments secured by a mortgage.
Husband: a pre-marital flat that "became joint"
The wife claimed a share in a flat bought before the marriage on the basis of renovation. Lawyer for the husband: the renovation cost was insignificant against the flat's value, no substantial improvement was proved; the wife's contribution to the renovation was compensated, and the flat remained personal property.
Questions About Property Division
The flat was bought during the marriage with my parents' money and is in my spouse's name. Is it joint?
By presumption yes, but the presumption is rebutted if you prove the money was gifted to you: a gift agreement, a transfer from your parents' account directly to the seller, correspondence. If the parents gave it "to the family", it is joint. That is why the lawyer advises notarising a large gift with a named recipient before the purchase happens.
My spouse sold the car during the proceedings. What happens?
The value of the sold asset is counted against their share, so you receive more from the remaining property. If the sale breached an attachment, the transaction is voided. That is why the lawyer requests attachment together with the claim: before the sale, not after.
Can we divide the property at a notary, without court?
Yes: a notarised agreement on dividing joint property is possible both during the marriage and after divorce, and is registered directly in the registry. It saves both the fee and time. A lawyer is still needed on the text: the wording on debts, compensation deadlines and "no further claims" is frequently wrong.
We were never registered, lived together for 8 years and bought a flat together.
The joint property regime does not apply; the flat belongs to whoever is on the title. A share can be claimed under ordinary civil rules by proving contribution (transfers, receipts, loan payments from your account), as common ownership or unjust enrichment. Difficult, but winnable with documents.
I have no access to the business documents; my spouse hides everything.
Evidence is obtained by court order: the company's balance sheet and returns from the Revenue Service, bank statements, registry history. The other side's failure to produce documents is held against them by the court. The lawyer's job is exactly to turn "I do not know" into "I know".
Lawyers for Property Division Cases
A property case is won on the chain of the source of funds and an attachment obtained on day one. Within 15 minutes the coordinator connects you with a lawyer who regularly handles the division of joint property, businesses and debts.
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In a free consultation the lawyer tells you what is joint and what is personal in your case, what should be attached today and how the source of funds is proved. The coordinator is in touch within 15 minutes.