It’s common to have serious concerns about property division as it pertains to the divorce process. If you don’t take the proper steps before and during your divorce, you could end up facing unnecessary financial challenges at some point in the future.
There are many steps you can take to protect your assets in divorce, including:
- Get organized: Above all else, organization is the one thing that will put your mind at ease. With a property division checklist, for example, there’s no gray area with respect to the assets that will come into play. This breaks everything down by category, such as personal property, real estate, financial assets and business assets.
- Know which assets aren’t subject to division: Marital assets are always subject to division. This often includes things such as the family home and motor vehicles. However, you may find that some assets are yours and yours alone, such as a classic car or rental property that you brought into the marriage. If an asset isn’t marital, do your best to protect it in the divorce process.
- Assign a value: This is easy for some assets and difficult for others. For example, a quick online search can help you determine a ballpark value of your motor vehicles. But when it comes to your home, a professional appraisal is necessary. Assigning a value to each of your assets will help you better understand your circumstances.
Along with the above, there’s one last thing to keep in mind. Negotiation and compromise is all part of the property division process.
For instance, if you’re going through divorce mediation, you and your soon-to-be ex-spouse will talk out issues regarding asset division. If you go into the process with the idea that you’ll get everything, you won’t be happy in the end. You need to negotiate in good faith and compromise as necessary, all while protecting your legal rights.
When you do your part in protecting your assets in divorce, you’ll feel better about your ability to create a sound financial life for yourself in the future. That alone should give you some peace of mind.