People often focus on their most valuable, sizable assets when they are dividing property during a divorce. They think about their home, cars, boats and their businesses.
However, other properties can be surprisingly valuable, triggering contentious disputes.
Do you have these assets?
As you navigate the property division process to divide everything equitably, you could overlook assets that hold a surprising amount of value. Whether this value is actual or perceived, you could wind up fighting over them more than you fought over real estate.
- Pets: In the eyes of the law, pets are property. This means that if you and your ex cannot agree on who keeps your pet, the matter could go before a judge to decide. Whether you go to court or you try to determine pet custody yourselves, it could be a contentious process.
- Memberships: Golf clubs, country clubs, gyms and other similar memberships can be quite exclusive. It may have taken years and a lot of money to finally become a member, and keeping this status can be a high priority to one or both parties.
- Collectibles: If you or your spouse collects items like stamps, art, jewelry or action figures, that collection could be a point of contention during a divorce. Due to the nature of a collection, parties can confront issues related to valuations, who owns individual items and whether to break up the collection.
- Digital property: Do you have cryptocurrency, monetized social media accounts or non-fungible tokens? These are all digital properties that can hold value and be eligible for division in a divorce. Because these assets are difficult to appraise and divide, they can spark conflicts that are difficult to resolve/
- Sentimental items: Even if property does not cost a lot of money, it can still hold significant sentimental value. Thus, there can be arguments over who gets to keep something with which parties have an emotional connection.
Don’t overlook these and other surprisingly valuable assets
You might not realize how important these and other items are when you start the divorce process. Sometimes, people overlook them altogether.
However, they can trigger contentious disputes that can derail an otherwise amicable split, so it is crucial not to dismiss them or assume you can ignore them.
