Marital
assets refer to all the property that is jointly owned by a married couple, or
the property that either of them purchased during their marriage tenure.
Everything that you owned or acquired before your marriage is your separate
property. However, if you mix your separate property with your marital
property, it no longer remains your separate property. For example, your
re-title your house by making your spouse a co-owner or you deposit your savings
into an account owned jointly by you and your spouse. Couples have two broad
choices when it comes to dividing the family house as property settlement
agreement. If both parties want a clean and straightforward settlement, selling
the property may be a good idea. However, selling a house in the current market
can be difficult, and you will have no idea how long it might take. As a
result, you may have to hold on to a home you no longer want or sell at a
reduced price for a quick sale.
In
situations where one spouse wants to keep the house and the other wants to
sell, or if both the parties want to keep the house, the court may give property settlement agreement Tweed Heads where in the ownership of the house to the
partner who gets the custody of the kids, but at the cost of other valuables
that he/she wishes to retain. The spouse who receives the house can “buy out”
the other’s interest in the property. If your ex-gets the house, make sure that
you get your name removed from any deeds, mortgages, or other rights or
obligations on the property. In both cases, the property will be first valued
for a settlement. If the parties can’t agree upon a price, the court may order
a joint report from a local estate agent or surveyor. If You Have a Separate
Savings Account: In this case, your savings will remain your property. If your
partner has a power of attorney over your savings account, you can withdraw it
at any time without his/her permission.
If
you have joint savings accounts: In this case, neither of you can access the
account without the other’s permission. Both of you will get an equal share out
of the savings account as part of property settlement agreement Tweed Heads. However, the
money that solely belongs to you (like your salary) stays only with you and
your spouse gets no hold over it. Both parties should work out who will take
what in property settlement agreement. For this, they should agree on a value
for all the items so that the one who keeps them pays their share of the cost
to the other. If either of the parties cannot agree on the value of the items,
the court may order a sale and split the money accordingly. The couple may also
need to hire someone to assess the value of the items. If you live in an
equitable distribution state like Illinois, you may want to consider a divorce
lawyer who can help you meditate with your spouse over the property settlement
agreement. Remember, sometimes the cost of hiring someone to access the value
of your household items can be more than the total value of the items. So try
to sort this out internally with your spouse in consultation with your lawyer.