Whether you have been married for two years or 20 years or longer, your assets are likely co-mingled with your spouse.
During a divorce, you must find a way to agreeably divide the assets in a manner that is legal according to the laws of your state and that is equitable or fair to both parties. You first should speak with Kansas City Divorce Attorney Anthony Moreno regarding the laws in your state to obtain some initial guidance on how to divide assets.
This information will help you to determine the initial steps you need to take to legally divide your belongings.
Value All of Your Belongings
After obtaining legal guidance regarding the division of your assets, prepare a list of all of the belongings that you and your spouse own. This may include cars and real estate, a boat or other recreational vehicle, furniture in the home, artwork, jewelry, and anything else that has financial value.
This can be a lengthy list, so you should review it several times to ensure that you have created a complete list. If possible, work with your ex to prepare the list so that nothing is omitted unintentionally and so you both agree on the estimated value of the items.
If you cannot agree on the value, you can obtain an appraisal.
Determine What Can Be Liquidated
It is far easier to divide cash in an equitable manner than to divide non-liquid assets, therefore you may find that you need to liquidate some of your assets. There may be items you won’t want to liquidate, such as the vehicles that you and your ex drive on a daily basis.
On the other hand, there may be no other way to justly divide the assets without liquidating some of the larger or more valuable items, such as a house. Make a list of what you want to liquidate versus those you do not plan to liquidate, and move forward with your liquidation plans.
Prepare a Final Spreadsheet for Your Attorney
After you have liquidated all you intend to, you may find that it is easier to divide your assets equitably. Kansas City Divorce Attorney Anthony Moreno will need a final spreadsheet of your assets to prepare the divorce decree, so update your initial spreadsheet to show who is to retain each item or how much of the liquid cash each party will receive.
