Equitable distribution is the legal process by which the Court determines the marital (and non-marital) assets and debts of the parties and distributes them to the appropriate parties in a dissolution of marriage action. Generally, any asset and any debt acquired by either party, whether individually or jointly, from the date of their marriage to the date one party files for divorce, are considered to be marital and subject to equitable distribution. Assets and debts acquired prior to the date of marriage or after the date of filing are typically determined to be non-marital and distributed to the party that acquired the asset or incurred the debt. As with any area of family law, there are exceptions to each of these general rules. However, it is fair to assume that Court will likely distribute an equal share of the marital assets and debts to each party upon divorce.