A huge part of the divorce process is dividing your assets. While this is true, if you have high-value assets, such as family heirlooms, expensive automobiles or rare treasures, you may wonder what rights you have to keep these items.
You must take a few steps to divide your high-value asset first:
1. Determine ownership
It is important to determine ownership before moving forward. According to Kentucky law, any property acquired during the marriage is subject to distribution. While this is true, there is some property exempt from this, which includes the following:
- An inheritance that is kept separate from marital finances
- Items purchased by money from selling inherited or gifted items
- Gifts given to one person by a third party
- Interest earned on these belongings unless the other person helped with improving it
- Items bought before marrying or after separating
Naturally, there are exceptions to a lot of these situations, and you need to examine your circumstances carefully.
2. Determine the current value
For items that are subject to property division, you must know their current value. It is smart to use the services of an appraiser who specializes in the type of item you have. They can give you the most accurate estimate. Sometimes, couples will use a single appraiser for this, but in other cases, they will hire separate professionals.
3. Negotiate the distribution
Once you have established ownership and value of these assets, it is possible to negotiate how they will be divided. You have a few options. You can sell the item or items and split the profit, each person can take part of the collection or one spouse can buy the other spouse’s share to keep the collection together.
If you cannot negotiate a fair division of your high-value assets, you can leave it in the court’s hands. In this case, knowing your legal rights will help you know what you are entitled to receive.
