Minnesota Divorce Property Division

What the Law Says

Minnesota courts divide marital property under an equitable distribution standard — the judge decides what's fair, which may or may not be 50/50.

Minnesota makes a just and equitable division of marital property under Minn. Stat. §518.58 — without regard to marital misconduct — after making findings on the relevant factors and valuing the marital assets as of the day of the initially scheduled prehearing settlement conference unless the parties agree to or the court sets another date (subd. 1). The statute contains no presumption of equal division; the near-equal divisions common in long marriages are a matter of Minnesota practice, not a statutory command. Each spouse is conclusively presumed to have made a substantial contribution to the acquisition of income and property while the parties lived together.

Division Factors (Minn. Stat. §518.58)

What Minnesota courts weigh:

1. Length of the marriage (Minn. Stat. §518.58 subd. 1)
2. Any prior marriage of a party (§518.58 subd. 1)
3. Age, health, station, occupation, amount and sources of income, vocational skills, employability, estate, liabilities, and needs of each party (§518.58 subd. 1)
4. Opportunity for future acquisition of capital assets, and income of each party (§518.58 subd. 1)
5. Contribution of each in the acquisition, preservation, depreciation or appreciation in the amount or value of the marital property, and the contribution of a spouse as a homemaker (§518.58 subd. 1)
6. Conclusive presumption that each spouse made a substantial contribution to the acquisition of income and property while living together as spouses (§518.58 subd. 1)
7. Compensation to the other party when marital assets were transferred, encumbered, concealed, or disposed of without consent, in contemplation of or during the proceeding — each party owes the other a fiduciary duty (§518.58 subd. 1a)
8. Apportionment of up to one-half of otherwise-excluded nonmarital property to prevent an unfair hardship (§518.58 subd. 2)

Common Questions