What is Equitable Distribution in North Carolina?

Under North Carolina General Statute 50-20, Equitable Distribution is the division of assets acquired during a marriage. The Equitable Distribution Act presumes that property acquired during marriage is marital, and should be divided equally as an “in kind property division.”

The Equitable Distribution of Property Act of North Carolina was put in place to recognize the concept that marriage is a partnership and a shared enterprise, which both spouses make valuable contributions to, even though those contributions may be in a different form. The policy behind the act is to treat the work of each spouse as equally worthy, whether or not a spouse is actually earning income. The act allows an individual acting as a homemaker to be treated the same as the breadwinner when assets are distributed.