Spouses preparing for divorce often focus on high-value assets and financial resources. They want to make sure they know what their home is worth and that they obtain a fair share of their retirement savings in the divorce. Personal property that belongs to either spouse may seem substantially less valuable and therefore less important. However, overlooking personal property can potentially result in an unfair property division outcome.
There are certain warning signs that reviewing and possibly valuing personal property can alert an individual to. The following are some of the reasons that spouses need to look at the value of the personal property that they or their spouse own before finalizing any financial agreements.
A history of uneven spending habits
Perhaps one spouse frequently augments their wardrobe with thrift shop finds, while the other has a weakness for designer brands. There can be a significant difference between what one spouse has spent on themselves throughout the marriage and what the other has used on their own behalf. In such scenarios, simply allowing one spouse to outright claim all of their personal property without accounting for its value could lead to an unfair outcome. If the wardrobe of one spouse is worth $500 while the other has clothing worth upwards of $10,000, accounting for the difference in personal property can lead to a more reasonable property division decree.
Signs of dissipation prior to divorce
Sometimes, one spouse may intentionally spend far more than they usually do in the months before they file for divorce. They may acquire a vast assortment of different types of property that they intend to use to start their life after marriage. Whether they augment their wardrobe or start buying new furniture, those purchases may be for personal benefit despite them trying to avoid splitting those resources during divorce negotiations. If someone’s spending increased in questionable ways prior to the divorce, valuing the property they acquired could lead to a more reasonable property division decree.
Expensive hobbies and costly collections
Maybe the spouses had a history of buying a few bottles of wine on every trip they enjoyed during the marriage, but only one spouse wants to keep the wine after the divorce. Maybe one spouse developed a particularly expensive hobby, such as fixing up classic cars. The equipment used for a hobby or the contents of a collection could be worth thousands of dollars in some cases. Determining what those resources are worth is important even if a spouse does not want to actually retain any of those assets in the divorce.
Personal property can be worth tens of thousands of dollars and can affect the outcome of property division proceedings during a divorce. Accurately estimating the value of different resources can be beneficial for those preparing for a complex divorce.