There are two main aspects of divorce that can be contentious:
- Child custody
- Asset division
While most people view child custody as the most difficult topic on which two married persons may have to agree, asset division sometimes leads to even more friction. This is especially true if there are significant assets involved such as houses, retirement plans, or stock options. Negotiations about who’s getting what can be very complicated in this kind of situation. This article discusses the challenges of asset division.
Monetary value is just a factor among others
One of the main reasons why divorcing parties can’t agree on asset division is because they don’t always claim assets based on their monetary value. Instead, each party tries to get the assets that will provide them with enough financial security in both the short and long run. Under such circumstances other factors must also be taken into account, including:
- Tax repercussions
- The level of liquidity of those assets
As you might know, certain assets can be turned into cash faster than others, which is why they are described as liquid. For example, stock options are more liquid than houses.
The type of state where the couple used to live
When it comes to asset division, there are two types of states:
- Community property
- Equitable distribution
In the first type, courts consider that each spouse is entitled to 50% of all marital property. While in equitable distribution states, courts focus more on the fairness of the asset distribution. New York is one of the 41 equitable distribution states in the country.
If you’re on the verge of getting divorced and you've accumulated many assets while being married, please contact us and we’ll assign you one of our highly experienced attorneys.