Living in California, sunshine and opportunity aren’t the only things that come with building wealth. If you are considering a divorce, you might wonder if your comfortable lifestyle translates to a smooth financial separation. Unfortunately, dividing luxury assets like vacation homes, yachts or art collections can be as complex as splitting bank accounts.
Simplifying the property division process is possible, and these two strategies can help couples with complex, high-value items.
Sell off luxury property before filing
Considering the emotional toll a divorce can take, tackling the division of your luxury assets beforehand can be a strategic move. Here’s how selling these items together could streamline your divorce:
- Reduce conflict. Selling luxury items like a vacation home or a prized art collection together may prevent arguments about their worth and division later.
- Get market value. Selling outside of a divorce means you can focus on getting the best possible price for your assets instead of feeling like you must take the first offer.
- Reduce marital estate. Selling off assets removes them from the marital estate, reducing the complexity of asset division in California, a community property state.
Remember, you must obtain spousal approval to sell any jointly owned marital property – even then, legal guidance is wise.
Consider creating a postnuptial agreement
Prenuptial agreements are well-known, but married couples can utilize postnuptial agreements. Like a prenup, this agreement allows you and your spouse to decide on the division of assets, including luxury items, if you get a divorce.
Even if you both know a divorce is coming, tackling some property division tasks in advance can prevent disputes later on when everyone’s emotions are high.
These are merely two possible methods of simplifying your high-asset divorce proceedings. Guidance from an experienced representative can help ensure you receive a fair share of valuable marital property.