Dispute Resolution Services (DRS) : Topics to be Resolved : Marital Assets

In a divorce, it is necessary to identify all marital assets, agree on a value for each asset and agree on which party will receive the asset.

In many marriages, one person is in charge of finances and the other person usually has other responsibilities. Since full knowledge and understanding is necessary to make good agreements, the party with less experience will need to become comfortable with all the facts upon which the agreement will be based.

For certain types of assets, such as an ownership interest in a closely held business or a complex pension plan, clients typically agree to hire neutral valuation experts outside of DRS. The parties will also need to consider various factors in dividing their assets, such as providing residence(s) for the children, liquidity, and future tax consequences.

Handling of Marital Assets
At DRS, our clients complete very detailed worksheets designed to identify all assets (except for furniture and household goods, which parties are often able to handle on their own). We also require that our clients provide the documents which describe the asset and show the current value. The parties can sometimes complete certain worksheets together. When each party provides her or his information to DRS, we make sure that the other party (and any attorneys) received a full set of copies.

It may be necessary to update values during the mediation process until there is agreement on a “date of valuation”, then that date will be used for the final figures. Just like the court, the parties can agree to adjust the value of an asset if there is a substantial change between the date of valuation and the completion of the process.

DRS professionals use our “Marital Balance Sheet” spreadsheet form to help the parties keep track of assets and their values and to illustrate various possible divisions.

While clients often divide marital assets (and marital liabilities) such the total net value for each party is equal, there may be other good reasons to decide on a different type of division. An equal division does not mean that each asset is split down the middle. Instead, the parties agree to award assets in a way which makes sense to them. Then, we compare the total value in each person’s column on the marital balance sheet.

Sometimes a property settlement payment is necessary to accomplish the parties’ agreement as to division of marital assets. The clients need to agree on when and how such payment(s) will be made.

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