Written by NotALawyer Legal AI · Reviewed by External Legal AI · Published July 2, 2026
Who gets what in a divorce depends first on where you live. A handful of states are community property states that start from a 50/50 split of what was acquired during the marriage; most others use "equitable distribution," where a judge divides marital property fairly — which doesn't always mean equally. The table on this page shows your state's system.
Almost everywhere, what either spouse earns or acquires during the marriage is marital property, no matter whose name is on it. What each spouse owned before the marriage — plus gifts and inheritances received in one spouse's name alone — generally stays separate.
In community property states, marriage-era wages, retirement contributions, and purchases are presumed owned equally, and courts generally divide them equally in divorce. Need and fault usually don't move that split; support is decided separately.
Most states instead ask what's fair: judges weigh the length of the marriage, each spouse's earning power and contributions (including homemaking), health, and who keeps the kids. A fair split can be 50/50 — or something quite different.
Credit-card balances and loans taken on during the marriage are usually shared under the same rules, even if only one spouse signed. Debt brought into the marriage generally stays with the spouse who owes it.
Deposit an inheritance into a joint account, or use separate money to pay down a shared mortgage, and part of it may become marital. Tracing the funds back to their source is how courts sort that out — and a prenup or settlement agreement usually controls before a judge ever decides.
More on this topic: the Family hub
At divorce, this is whether your state splits marital property 50/50 as community property or divides it "equitably" (fairly, but not necessarily equally) based on the couple's circumstances. Each value is cited to the state statute or agency; a state with no sourced figure shows "Not yet sourced."
General information, not legal advice. Rules change and exceptions apply — confirm the current rule with the cited source for your state.
NotALawyer.com provides general legal information, not legal advice.