OUR DIVORCE LAWYER HANDLES THE PROPERTY DISTRIBUTION PROCESS

The court may also award either spouse any or all of the property of the other. Connecticut is not a community property state. Property does not get automatically divided fifty-fifty. Nor is legal title determinative.

Instead, in deciding whether to transfer property and, if so, how much, the court must consider the same factors relevant to alimony awards as well as each spouse's opportunity to acquire assets and income in the future and each spouse's contribution to the acquisition, preservation, or appreciation in value of the parties' property. Once ordered, property division can never be modified, save for exceptional reasons such as fraud.

You and your lawyer should be careful to take account of all important assets. Assets subject to division can include homes, bank and brokerage accounts, retirement accounts, business interests, and personal property.

Sometimes pensions and other deferred compensation get overlooked. Most pensions can be divided tax-free through a device known as Qualified Domestic Relations Order (Q.D.R.O.). Sometimes, however, it makes more sense to let the spouse keep the pension and, instead, treat the value of a pension as an offset against the value of an asset transferred to another spouse.

Individual Retirement Accounts (I.R.A.s) can be easily divided, tax-free. Speculative assets cannot be considered, let alone divided. Unless a spouse's interest in an inheritance is vested, the court will not even listen to evidence of its existence. In other words, that your mother has provided for you in her will, and how much, will not be considered. She may change her will or spend the money. If she has died, however, the amount you will receive upon completion of probate will be considered and may be divided. As a practical matter, that future inheritance is not likely to make much of a difference unless it is large in comparison to the other assets or the circumstances of the case make it important.