You should never assume that the divorce process will go as planned. Even if you have the best intentions, there are sure to be sticking points along the way.
This is even more so the case if you have children with the other individual and/or have many assets to divide.
Property division can be a challenge, as both you and the other person are fighting for the same thing: to obtain as many assets as possible, thus making it easier to move on with your life.
If you want to ease your stress, it’s important to create a property division checklist. With this in hand, it’s simple to understand what to discuss when this part of the divorce process rolls around.
Here are the four most common categories of a property division checklist, as well as some items that fall within each one:
- Real property. This includes assets such as the family home, business property, undeveloped land, rental properties and vacation homes.
- Personal property. This varies from one divorce to the next, with common items include: china, artwork, clothing, furniture, jewelry, collectibles, guns, computers, electronics and motor vehicles.
- Financial assets. The most common types of financial assets include checking and savings accounts, cash, educational accounts, retirement accounts and pensions, stocks and bonds, annuities, trusts and life insurance policy cash values.
- Business assets. These aren’t present with all divorces, but if one or both people are business owners they are sure to come into play.
What about debt?
It’s important to focus on property division, but that doesn’t mean you can ignore any debt that has accumulated during your divorce.
For example, if you have credit card debt you’ll need to figure out the best way to divide this. Just the same as assets, you need to be careful about how you approach debt division.
With a robust property division checklist in front of you, it’s easier to decide how to push forward and what to fight for along the way. You’ll find yourself compromising at times, but that’s all part of going through a divorce.
As long as you know your legal rights and stick with your strategy, everything will begin to fall into place as your divorce takes shape. It may not be easy, but moving forward one step at a time will allow you to eventually put your marriage in the past.