Divorce Help 101
Personal Property
Personal property covers perhaps the most broad spectrum of any property category, but at the same time it can also be a quagmire that can end up causing a great deal of emotional stress and even more money in attorneys fees while the parties fight about often the most minor and trivial of items.
Traditional personal property issues include items such as cars, boats, recreational vehicles, motorcycles as well as furniture and other household items. Personal property also includes the most miniscule of items such as dishes, china, and silverware - even down to the broken clock in the garage. The value of personal property can run the gamut from little value to extreme value.
In determining how the property will be divided the Court will use either the community property or non-community property approach. However, for the purposes of this discussion here we will be assuming that the property is being divided equally between the parties.
In dividing personal property, it can be divided in kind, meaning if there are four of certain items each party will get two. The parties can also divide the property according to value meaning that each party will receive an equal value of personal property though each may receive a different number of items.
Many times the parties can resolve personal property issues on their own without Court involvement or even without the involvement of their attorneys. This, as with any decisions the parties can make in a divorce, will make the entirety of their divorce that much easier and that much less costly.
Often when the parties are determining issues of personal property, the approach will be to overvalue property that their spouse wants to keep and to undervalue property that they wish to keep. This is normal as parties typically want their spouse to receive less and them to receive more. This approach is so absurd that if there are two identical items it is common for one to be of extreme value and the other to be worth little to nothing. This can cause problems in efforts to resolve the issues of personal property.
The best approach to use with generally all personal property is to use an objective aftermarket approach to valuing the property. Unless there is an inherent third party market for an item of property, parties need to understand that the value of the property is not what it would cost new (or not always what they think it is worth), but what it would cost to replace the item. Many people refer to this as the “garage sale” value or the “ebay” value. In other words, if there is an item that you are trying to value, look it up on ebay. This is a method that will generally pass the scrutiny of another lawyer or of the Court. Failing this the property will need to be appraised by a professional property appraiser – a process which can cost many thousands of dollars and can take a great deal of time. Usually unless the personal property contains some unique or inherently valuable property this money could be better spent elsewhere.
When dealing with matters of personal property, it is best to work through the items with your spouse as smoothly as possible. If you fight over dishes and silverware, when it comes to the most important issues, agreements may be very difficult as you may have polarized yourself over cutlery.
Keep in mind that if you are fighting over an item of property you need to be keenly aware of the cost of the property if new. For example, almost all would admit it was foolish to fight over a $15 compact disk, but many would say they would consider fighting over a $1000 flat screen television. However, when you consider that each party may be paying their attorney upwards of $300 or more an hour, you will exhaust the value of the television in just under two hours.
Disclaimer
Traditional personal property issues include items such as cars, boats, recreational vehicles, motorcycles as well as furniture and other household items. Personal property also includes the most miniscule of items such as dishes, china, and silverware - even down to the broken clock in the garage. The value of personal property can run the gamut from little value to extreme value.
In determining how the property will be divided the Court will use either the community property or non-community property approach. However, for the purposes of this discussion here we will be assuming that the property is being divided equally between the parties.
In dividing personal property, it can be divided in kind, meaning if there are four of certain items each party will get two. The parties can also divide the property according to value meaning that each party will receive an equal value of personal property though each may receive a different number of items.
Many times the parties can resolve personal property issues on their own without Court involvement or even without the involvement of their attorneys. This, as with any decisions the parties can make in a divorce, will make the entirety of their divorce that much easier and that much less costly.
Often when the parties are determining issues of personal property, the approach will be to overvalue property that their spouse wants to keep and to undervalue property that they wish to keep. This is normal as parties typically want their spouse to receive less and them to receive more. This approach is so absurd that if there are two identical items it is common for one to be of extreme value and the other to be worth little to nothing. This can cause problems in efforts to resolve the issues of personal property.
The best approach to use with generally all personal property is to use an objective aftermarket approach to valuing the property. Unless there is an inherent third party market for an item of property, parties need to understand that the value of the property is not what it would cost new (or not always what they think it is worth), but what it would cost to replace the item. Many people refer to this as the “garage sale” value or the “ebay” value. In other words, if there is an item that you are trying to value, look it up on ebay. This is a method that will generally pass the scrutiny of another lawyer or of the Court. Failing this the property will need to be appraised by a professional property appraiser – a process which can cost many thousands of dollars and can take a great deal of time. Usually unless the personal property contains some unique or inherently valuable property this money could be better spent elsewhere.
When dealing with matters of personal property, it is best to work through the items with your spouse as smoothly as possible. If you fight over dishes and silverware, when it comes to the most important issues, agreements may be very difficult as you may have polarized yourself over cutlery.
Keep in mind that if you are fighting over an item of property you need to be keenly aware of the cost of the property if new. For example, almost all would admit it was foolish to fight over a $15 compact disk, but many would say they would consider fighting over a $1000 flat screen television. However, when you consider that each party may be paying their attorney upwards of $300 or more an hour, you will exhaust the value of the television in just under two hours.
Disclaimer
