Valuing Your Collectibles During a High Asset Divorce

 Posted on February 06, 2019 in High Asset Divorce

It is not uncommon during a divorce for the parties involved to get so caught up in the emotional aspects of dissolving their marriage that they fail to focus on coming up with a property settlement that serves the best interests of both spouses. This can end up costing both parties a significant amount of time and funds, while also making it much more difficult to prepare for post-divorce life. In fact, divorcing spouses may not even realize the full value of the marital assets that they are surrendering to the other without any attempt at negotiation. This is especially likely in situations where one or both spouses own unique assets, such as collectibles that are hard to put a price on, but could be extremely valuable. For help ensuring that this doesn’t happen to you, please contact a member of our dedicated high asset divorce legal team for assistance.

Valuable Collectibles

Although when many people think about valuable collectibles, they imagine antiques or coin collections, the reality is that there are a number of different kinds of valuable assets that a person can collect that fall under this category, including wine, jewelry, and art. In other cases, a person’s collections may only be of interest to a certain group of collectors. However, that doesn’t mean that these types of items don’t have value. In fact, odd items, such as antique medical devices can bring in large sums on auction websites, where collectors from all over the world can search for particular rare collectibles.

Marital Assets

Collectibles, like any other type of asset, is considered community property when it is obtained during the course of a marriage, and as a result, will be subject to the state’s marital property distribution laws. Many find it difficult to part with collectibles purchased or received during marriage, so it is often in these individuals best interest to use these items as leverage in a trade-off for another asset that the other spouse would rather receive.

Obtaining a Valuation of Marital Collectibles

Before taking this step, however, the parties will need to have their collections professionally evaluated, which can be a difficult endeavor if a collection is particularly rare. For instance, someone who collects valuable stamps will most likely need to obtain the advice of someone who specializes in this area of valuation, while someone else who collects pottery from around the world would need to do the same. Negotiations are generally premature until this step has been taken.

During most divorces, both spouses usually retain independent evaluators, although if a couple is unable to reach an agreement on this, a court may be required to step in and appoint a specialist on the parties’ behalf.

Contact Our Office Today for Help with Your Own High Asset Divorce

To speak with one of the skilled Round Rock high asset divorce attorneys at Powers and Kerr, PLLC about valuing your own collectibles, please call 512-610-6199 today. A member of our team is standing by to help you through each step of your case.

Source:

https://www.forbes.com/sites/jefflanders/2013/10/16/divorcing-women-dont-forget-these-marital-assets/#3fc8686e1195

http://www.cracked.com/pictofacts-379-18-surprising-things-collectors-will-pay-you-big-money-for