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Don't Be In The Dark About Our Legal System

Hello, I'm Karla Mitchell. Going through a legal case can be very expensive and challenging. I won't go into details, but I recently underwent my own legal battle that lasted several years. It is finally over and I successfully received a settlement, but I had to spend so much time studying law in order to play my role in my own court case. While I found a great attorney at one point, I felt completely lost initially and I don't want anyone else to experience the same thing. So I decided to create this blog for those who would like to know more about law.

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Don't Be In The Dark About Our Legal System

Divorce Dilemmas: How To Divide Your Property

by Andrew Martin

Once you and your spouse make the decision to divorce, one major task will be dividing your jointly owned property. Many states are considered community property, meaning it is equal between both partners no matter who paid for it. The following are some things you can do to make this process as simple as possible:

List Everything Comprehensively

The first step to dividing property is to make a comprehensive list of every piece of jointly owned property. This will include a home, land, other pieces of real estate, and investments. You will also need to list tangible items such as furniture, jewelry, and other possessions. It is crucial that you are honest about what you own. Do not make the mistake of trying to hide assets, as you could face a subpoena for all of your personal records.

Valuate Each Item On Your List

After you make your list of assets, you need to attach the value to each one. Do not valuate your property at the price you purchased it; you will need to consider depreciation for some items. For your items that will increase in value, speak to an expert in the field, such as a realtor or art dealer so that you will have a realistic value of the asset.

Determine How You Will Divide The Property

You will next need to determine the method in which you will divide the property. There are a variety of ways to do it. If there are no discrepancies about who will receive what in the divorce, you can just divide it on your own based on who would have it if you were not a couple. For instance, if you are trying to decide who will get an ATV and you have never ridden it, obviously the other spouse would get it. If you collect antiques while your spouse never had any interest, you would obviously take possession.

If you are not able to divide things on your own, there are some other things you can do. The easiest thing to do is to sell everything and divide the profits. You can also involve a mediator to help sort out your property.

Once you have taken all of these steps, you will need to have everything finalized legally with a judge. Dividing your property can be a hard part of a divorce, so be sure to work with your attorney to make sure you are on the right path. Attorneys like Begley Carlin & Mandio LLP can help.

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