In India, the concept marriage has given a lot of importance. As per the Hindu Law, it is said that the man is incomplete without his wife and the wife is incomplete without her husband. The West people say that the wife is the better half of husband and the other way round.A marriage is a union of two persons for the rest of their lives. However it may in danger when a couple decides to call it quits. Though the emotional loss is something one can live with but the financial loss after being alone is something one cannot live with forever.Once couple gets married the property they have purchased together is termed as the spousal property. The property which wife had got as a part of her stridhan does not include in this. Assets are one of the main issues for dispute when a couple divorced.The law has granted women the right to husband’s residential property whether it was acquired before or after marriage.Under the current Hindu law a woman get a right on husband’s property only after his death. Marriage is bond that considered sacrosanct and eternal in Hindu belief, there are no strong provisions in the existing law as far as property goes if a couple decides to quit there relation. A husband’s ancestral property which the husband is expected to inherit in future remains out of the settlement and so it does his self-acquired property. A woman could claim a joint property at the time of divorce. That, too, could be quite mind-boggling a process.In many cases the husband buy’s a property with own money but register that property in their wives name for benefit from the lower property registration fee for women. In such type of cases the wife can continue to retain ownership of that property.

Following are a few things that keep in mind before reaching a smart divorce settlement :

Knowledge of your Financial Records:
After a divorce in most of the cases the wife is financially inexperienced and therefore gets a raw deal. After a marriage the husband often takes care of household financial matters even if the wife is earning as well. Thus it is important that both the partnerskeep accurate financial records and clear titles of all the high-value items in the house. The spouse should credit their income into a joint account for household expenses and also distribute their financial responsibilities equally from the beginning of marriage.
Joint Property
If the property has been bought by both the partner’s so it is important to share it on the basis of individual equity. For this purpose revisit bank accounts and determine individual contributions towards down payment and installments to reach at the share of each spouse. Then you can get the value of the property assessed to arrive at the individual stakes. If the property in held jointly then it is important you need to do the paperwork to transfer it to one person.
Do you know your share?
To secure a fair deal at the end of your relationship it is must that one have a clear idea about their share before going for a claim in the court. A woman can only claim the gifts, including property, land, jewellery, and appliances, gifted by her parents or in-laws at and during the time of her marriage.
Where are all records and their copies maintained?
It is important that you must have the proofs ready as certificates and other investment details which can be are useful during the divorce. This document includes:

  • Marriage certificates
  • Tax returns and salary slips
  • Bank and credit card details
  • Mutual Funds, Stock and bonds details
  • Powers of attorney Document
  • All big-ticket purchases records
  • Insurance policies copy if any
  • Outstanding debts, car, home, credit card loans documents etc.