If you are going through a divorce, your financial settlement determines how you'll resolve debts and assets. It also includes any maintenance you might be required to be liable for.
These will be discussed in this post: matrimonial and non-matrimonial properties, financial assets such as stocks, bonds and real estate, and child maintenance as well as the payment of support.
Matrimonial assets
When divorce proceedings are in progress, determining what the marital asset worth is often a difficult task. It can be a challenge because assets often become commingled as they are mixed up in wedding.
Marital assets consist of the property and money that both of you acquired in the course of marriage, or unless you and your spouse have signed a prenuptial or postnuptial arrangement that stipulates that some items are property of separate ownership. financial settlement The court will divide marital property between you and the other spouse with an equitable process following divorce.
The value of an asset may be difficult to estimate since the value of assets tend to increase over the course of. This is true especially of antiques and collectibles. The court could employ several techniques to assess the value of an object. These methods are the cost-based approach, income-based approach as well as replacement value. In some instances an expert in valuation may be required to give an expert opinion regarding the value of an asset.
The method by which an asset gets acquired may also impact the value of an asset. For example, if you took a work of art in the marriage as a private property, and then you encouraged your spouse to work on improving and enhancing the condition of it, this could impact its future value. The value could rise. the art is worth and can affect equitable distribution.
Additionally, if both you and your spouse purchased an item as a shared investment using money earned during the course of your marriage, this could boost its worth, making the property marital and susceptible to equitable distribution in the event of divorce. It is essential to have separate accounts for your individual and marital accounts. This holds true even you are trying to safeguard a prized asset, such as an old, classic vehicle purchased with funds earned before your marriage.
Comingling can also occur if separate property used for the purchase of a property that's believed as marital property. If you own a bank account that has money was earned prior to marriage, and you then add your spouse's account and then grant access to them. It could be enough for you to change your separate account into one you can share with your spouse as the assets have been co-mingled and you have changed the funds from non-marital into marital.
Claims of dissipation
Not least, the claims of one party that they are misusing or wasting assets in the relationship can significantly impact the worth of an asset. Infidelity when divorced is an occurrence. A soon-to-be ex-spouse can receive the asset as part of your financial settlement in the event that they are able to prove the funds were wasted and the worth of the property was diminuted.
The first thing you should remember when evaluating the assets you have to consider for the equitable distribution of assets is that there isn't a proper or correct method. Contact a skilled family lawyer in order to ensure your assets are treated as fairly. We can help you identify and identify assets, then discuss the best way to handle them during the divorce process.