Property Division in a Tennessee Divorce: Equitable Distribution
Tennessee family law · Last reviewed November 2, 2026
Tennessee is an equitable distribution state, not a community property state. The judge first sorts property into separate property, which each spouse keeps, and marital property, which is divided. The division must be equitable, which means fair in the circumstances, not necessarily equal. The rules are in § 36-4-121.
If you settle, your marital dissolution agreement divides the property, and the judge must find the settlement equitable before granting an irreconcilable-differences divorce.
Property comes before alimony, and fault stays out
The statute tells the court to deal with property before deciding whether to award alimony, and to:
Equitably divide, distribute, or assign the marital property between the parties without regard to marital fault in proportions as the court deems just
The court also allocates the marital debt, and it may order debts paid out of marital property before the rest is divided.
What is marital property
Marital property is what either or both of you acquired during the marriage up to the final divorce hearing and owned when the complaint was filed, valued as near as reasonably possible to the final hearing. Property moved in anticipation of the divorce, to keep it out of the division, can still be counted. Marital property also includes:
- Income from, and growth in value of, separate property during the marriage, if each spouse substantially contributed to its preservation and appreciation.
- Pension, retirement, stock option and other fringe benefits earned through employment during the marriage, vested or not.
What is separate property
Each spouse keeps his or her separate property:
- Property owned before the marriage, including individual retirement accounts.
- Property acquired in exchange for property owned before the marriage.
- Income from and appreciation of premarital property, unless it became marital as explained above.
- Gifts and inheritances to one spouse, whenever received.
- Pain-and-suffering awards, crime-victim compensation, and awards for future medical expenses and future lost wages.
- Property acquired after a legal-separation order that finally divided the property.
Retirement benefits earned before the marriage, and their later growth, stay separate even if contributions continued during the marriage; the court uses a reasonable accounting method to separate the two.
The factors
To divide marital property equitably, the court considers all relevant factors, including these from § 36-4-121(c):
- How long the marriage lasted.
- Each spouse's age, physical and mental health, vocational skills, employability, earning capacity, estate, debts and financial needs.
- Any contribution by one spouse to the other's education, training or increased earning power.
- Each spouse's ability to acquire capital assets and income in the future.
- Each spouse's contribution to acquiring, preserving, increasing, reducing or dissipating marital or separate property, with homemaker and wage-earner roles given the same weight if each spouse fulfilled one.
- The value of each spouse's separate property.
- Each spouse's estate when you married.
- Each spouse's economic circumstances when the division takes effect.
- Tax consequences, the costs of a reasonably foreseeable sale, and other foreseeable expenses tied to an asset.
- For a closely held business, all relevant valuation evidence, including discounts or premiums where supported.
- The Social Security benefits available to each spouse.
- Anything else needed to be fair to both.
- The attorney fees and expenses each spouse has paid in the case, where the money came from, and whether the fees were reasonable and necessary.
Dissipation means wasteful spending that reduces the marital property, made for a purpose contrary to the marriage, before or after the complaint is filed.
Debts
Marital debt is all debt either of you incurred during the marriage through the final hearing, including debt taken on to pay the lawyers and expenses of the divorce itself. The court divides responsibility for it in proportions it considers just, weighing factors listed in § 36-4-121(i).
The family home
The court may award the home and household goods to either spouse, or the right to live there for a reasonable time, but must give special consideration to a spouse who has physical custody of the children (§ 36-4-121(d)).
Frequently asked questions
Is Tennessee a 50/50 divorce state?
No. Tennessee divides marital property equitably, which may or may not mean equally, after weighing the factors in § 36-4-121(c).
Does adultery affect property division in Tennessee?
Not directly. The court divides marital property without regard to marital fault. Fault can be considered for alimony, and wasteful spending for a purpose contrary to the marriage counts as dissipation.
Is an inheritance marital property?
An inheritance or gift to one spouse is separate property. Income from it or growth in its value can become marital if both spouses substantially contributed to keeping it up or increasing it.
Is my 401(k) marital property?
The part earned through employment during the marriage is marital. The balance you had before you married, and its growth, are separate.
Who gets the house in a Tennessee divorce?
The judge decides, giving special consideration to the parent with physical custody of the children. The home can be awarded outright, or one spouse can be given the right to live there for a reasonable time.
Are attorney fees marital debt?
Yes. Debt incurred to pay the lawyers and expenses of the divorce through the final hearing is marital debt, and the fees each spouse has already paid are a factor in dividing property.