When ending a marriage, the divorcing couple faces a long path to finally reach their independent futures. Along this path, they might have to develop a parenting plan, determine support payments, divide debts and divide assets.
While there are countless types of assets and debts that must be divided in a divorce, they typically fall into three categories: physical property, financial property and digital assets. The couple must carefully evaluate their assets and debts to create an equitable division based on marital property, support payments and child custody.
Physical property that might need to be sold and divided can include:
- Family home
- Vacation home
- Cabin
- Income property
- Commercial real estate
- Timeshares
- Business assets and property
- Vehicles
Financial property that might need to be evaluated and divided can include:
- Bank accounts
- Savings accounts
- Retirement funds
- Compensation packages
- Safe deposit boxes
- Marital debt, including credit card debt, medical debt and personal loans
Digital assets that might need to be evaluated and divided can include:
- Social networking sites
- Online entertainment collections, including movies, music, books and video games
- Online storefronts
- Cryptocurrencies
- Airline miles
- Cashback bonus or customer rewards program benefits
Depending on the duration of the marriage, it is likely that a couple will have accumulated numerous assets and debts that must be thoroughly evaluated and discussed during the divorce process. Both parties must work together to impact the full financial picture of splitting one household into two. Factors such as child support, spousal support, custody and property division work in concert to create two independent futures from one present.