How to Handle the Personal Property in a Divorce. Division of Assets

“The only way you can beat the lawyers is to die with nothing.” Will Rogers

Divorce is serious, my heart goes out to anyone who has or is experiencing this time in their lives. Personal Property refers to all the belongings acquired during the marriage that is not real estate. The value of any property that you acquired during your marriage and that you still have when you separate, must be divided equally between spouses. Property that was brought into your marriage is yours to keep, but any increase in the value of this property during the time of marriage must be shared. This applies to both personal property and real estate. This short article just deals with personal property. In all cases where questions will arise, you must seek the advice of a qualified professional lawyer who specializes in divorce.

Most Common Situation

The most common household in Canada is a couple who has amassed real estate property such as a private home and maybe a vacation home, filled with personal property. For real estate, a qualified real estate appraiser should be consulted. For everything else, called personal property, jewelry, fine art, cars, collections, antiques and a large selection of household items. The values of the total inventory of all the assets will vary depending on the standing of the individual. There are cases, which had art collections, wines, classic cars, jewelry, haute-couture fashion and other assets. Some cases were more modest but had selected items of great value when all is considered and added up. “It’s a know what you have” or are tasked with identifying items within a household. Some couples had the foresight to inventory and document all items of value. Most couples have mountains of stuff, some of value and some not so valuable.

Today with the value of real estate and everything in a household, we are seeing higher valuations of the total assets that a couple has built over the years. Dividing the personal property is a little more complicated. Their sentimental value exceeds their monetary value, and negotiations would be the course of action. Ideally, if the couple can make a list of who gets what property, this simplifies the process. Many times items are in dispute or have alternating opinions of who gets what. If the amount of personal property is large, and there is a dispute over the personal property valuations, then the lawyers would call on someone like us to do a qualified written manifest or appraisal report. The importance of having an appraiser who is free from any conflict of interest is your number one goal. In many cases, the lawyers would agree to use one qualified appraiser.

Having an inventory or manifest of all the household items will be based on the date of when the marriage ended. So a collection of something acquired while in marriage has increased in value. The valuation date of the asset will be based on the marriage end date. Not the value of when the item was acquired. This might lead to further legal issues and or problems down the road.

Dividing personal property must balance fairness and its sentimental value.

Some Tips:

Make lists, and create separate categories, like furniture, jewelry, tools, hunting & fishing. Note who wants to keep specific items. For disputed items, take turns selecting which spouse gets the property. Set guidelines like alternating choices.

Buy out the other, if one spouse wants a certain property badly, they can buy out the other’s share of the value.

Sell and split, selling valuable personal property like art, antiques or vehicles and splitting the proceeds evenly is an option.

Mediate, an impartial mediator can help you negotiate the division of sentimental items. Compromise is key.

Consider the needs – Factor in each spouse’s living situation after divorce. Kitchen appliances, or other household goods.

Value the memories, not money – Some items have little value, but high in sentimental value. They do not have to be divided with 50 / 50 equity. The most successful divisions will balance compassion with fairness. Letting go of material possessions can allow you to move forward.