Missouri Lawyers Aggressively Protecting Your Property Rights
When couples divorce, dividing the property and debts involved can lead to serious conflict. At the Law Office of Craig D. Ritchie, P.C., with locations in St. Joseph and Liberty, Missouri, we work hard to find creative solutions for our clients — solutions that aggressively protect their interests while taking their goals into account.
About the Law on Property Division in Missouri
Missouri is an "equitable distribution" state. This means that, when couples are unable to reach an agreement on their own, courts try to divide the marital property and debts equitably. Equitable does not always mean equal — division of property in this way is usually based on a set of factors, including the ones listed below:
- The economic circumstances of each spouse
- The contribution of each spouse to the marital property
- The value of the non-marital property held separately by each spouse
- The conduct of each spouse during the marriage
Courts divide marital property only. Spouses may each keep their own non-marital property — generally assets or things owned before the marriage. During property division in a divorce, one of the greatest conflicts often arises in determining what is marital property and what is not.
Marital property is usually defined as all property acquired during the marriage by either spouse, with a few exceptions. These include property that was received as a gift by one spouse, property that was acquired by exchanging that gift for something else, or property excluded by a valid prenuptial agreement.
There are also serious tax consequences that should be taken into consideration in most divorce cases. Mr. Ritchie works closely with your accountant or tax professional to make sure these matters are not overlooked in the negotiation or litigation process.
Using Teamwork to Resolve Family Law Issues
At the Law Office of Craig D. Ritchie, P.C., teamwork is a driving factor in our legal practice. Each case is assigned to a knowledgeable paralegal who works directly with a lawyer to resolve your family law issue. Paralegals maintain close contact with you, so you can trust that there will always be someone there to answer questions about your case — someone who knows you and the challenges you face.
The use of paralegals is also a cost savings to you. They perform many tasks at a much lower hourly rate than Mr. Ritchie, allowing him to focus on the more complicated matters for you and his other clients. While paralegals or legal assistants cannot give legal advice, they are trained to share general information and to assist you in filling out various documents, gathering information, and preparing your case for settlement or trial in an organized manner.
Contact the Law Office of Craig D. Ritchie, P.C., by calling 816-396-8334 or toll free at 866-621-8229. You may also complete our online contact form to schedule a confidential consultation with an attorney regarding property division.
