Property division is complicated, and the complexity of New York law is not entirely to blame. Divorce is an emotional time, and those feelings would typically cloud your decision-making during negotiations. You would probably have one impulse telling you to try and keep everything and another urging you to leave it all behind.
At Hall Ricketts Gurbacki, P.C., we understand that our clients have more on their minds than a simple question of who gets what. That is why we work with them to help them understand what New York’s equitable distribution laws mean over the long term.
One of the first things that you would probably want to do is write up a list of things you think of as yours. It could include a business you owned before you got married, a piece of artwork in your collection or even a gift from your spouse. Then, you would want to think about what you want from those list items. Would you keep these valuable articles for future generations? Would you liquidate them in the near future? This could help you decide how hard you want to fight for each asset.
The court would probably not divide the total value of your shared assets equally — New York is not a fifty-fifty state. Most everything you would want to keep would have to undergo a valuation process to determine its dollar value. Your agreement with your spouse would need to account for various personal and professional characteristics of each of you, as well as support agreements, in order for an official to approve it.
All this might sound complicated, but we are typically able to cut through the legal jargon to show our clients how simple it can be. There are few perfect divorces, but we work towards making each one we handle as advantageous as possible for our clients’ interests. Please read on at our main website to find out more.