Divorcing when you own precious works of art or a luxurious Columbus home can be heartbreaking as you might expect to lose your valuable assets to your soon to be former spouse. However, the loss of your prized material possessions is not automatic. You can still try to negotiate with your spouse to hold on to certain assets. Several factors can lead to a successful divorce negotiation.
First, Bankrate recommends that you catalog your assets as early as possible. You should know what you own, where your assets are and have documentation that proves what you have. Delaying this process will only hurt you in the long run because you will have to list your assets anyway as part of the divorce proceeding, plus delays will cost you valuable time in negotiating with your spouse.
Also, the venue in which you negotiate may increase your chances of coming to a fruitful conclusion. Instead of opting for a contentious courtroom battle, seek a more amicable negotiation like going to a divorce mediator. The process of mediation is less formal and affords you greater control over the settlement process.
Whether you negotiate in a mediation setting or a courtroom, by knowing what assets you have, you can determine which ones are expendable. You can choose an asset that you want to keep and offer to trade other assets to your spouse in exchange for what you really want to hold on to. You might value a piece of art more than your highly priced car and offer to trade the car for the art.
In cases where artwork is considered to be marital property, your spouse may profess to want the art, but your spouse could have an asking price for the art that you or even your spouse do not know about. According to The Huffington Post, divorcing couples can hire an appraiser to determine the value of their art. Once you know how much a piece of art is worth, you can offer your spouse a price for the art. Your spouse may decide to take the money instead and leave you with the artwork.
Not all negotiating efforts will be successful. However, with the various tactics you could use to negotiate or trade for high value assets, you may stand a greater chance of keeping what you desire than you think. And if you promote an atmosphere of amicable negotiation, your spouse may be more inclined to make a compromise in your favor.