Before entering your divorce, you need to develop a solid gameplan for addressing property division. The outcome of this process can shape your financial landscape for a long time to come, and you’ll only get one shot at fighting for the resources you need to build the next chapter of your life. Therefore, it’s imperative that you know how to get a handle on the property division process before sitting down at the negotiating table or stepping into court. Although that may be stressful to think about, there are some steps you can take now to develop a sound legal strategy and protect your interest.
How can you take control of the property division process in your divorce?
There’s a lot of work that can be done in the early stages of your divorce to better position you for successful property division. Here are some steps that you should consider taking to best protect your interests throughout the process:
- Identify marital and individually owned property: Only marital assets will be subjected to the property division process. Therefore, if you have individually owned property, such as an inheritance, that you’ve kept separate from the marital estate, then you may be able to successfully argue that those assets shouldn’t be part of the division process. On the flip side, if you anticipate that your spouse is going to argue that they have individually owned property, then you need to craft arguments that try to show that those assets were comingled with marital assets or that they were used to benefit the marriage. If you’re successful in doing so, then you’ll be able to argue for your fair share of those assets.
- Find hidden assets: If you think that your spouses is squirreling away assets to keep them to themselves once the divorce is finalized, then you need to act to bring those assets into the property division process. A forensic accountant may be able to help you track down these hidden assets.
- Have a post-divorce plan: When negotiating and litigating property division, you have to articulate what you want and why you think you’re entitled to those requested assets. Creating a post-divorce budget can be helpful here, as it can highlight the shortcomings that you’ll have in maintaining an acceptable standard of living if you’re left with the short end of the stick when it comes to dividing the marital estate. Also be prepared to address what you plan to do to become self-sufficient and any difficulties you may face in that regard.
- Highlight parenting responsibilities: If you’re going to be the custodial parent, then you may have heightened needs when it comes to the property division process, especially if your spouse isn’t able to pay a lot of child support. So, make sure you can spell out what your parental role and obligations will be and how that may impact your financial stability.
Don’t let your spouse take control of the property division process
There’s a wide spectrum of outcomes when dealing with the division of a marital estate. That means there’s a lot of room to argue for what you think is fair under the circumstances. But you have to have compelling arguments that advance your position. You shouldn’t expect your spouse to willingly hand you the assets you want. So, as you head deeper into your divorce proceedings, be sure to carefully think through your strategy when it comes to property division. With a strong gameplan in place, you’ll hopefully be able to secure a fair outcome that positions you for the post-divorce life that you want.