All money is not created equal when dividing up your marital assets in a divorce agreement. But when you put all of the values of your accounts on a spreadsheet it may look that way. This can be deceiving. The balance in your checking account and the value of the unvested stock you were awarded that will vest over the next 4 years may appear to both be $15,000 today and that is what is put on your balance sheet. And then you decide that one person will keep the checking account and one person will keep the stock. If so needed, you can withdraw the $15,000 from your checking account tomorrow to buy a car. You slowly get the value of the unvested stock over time, taking the risk that the value can go up or down depending on the stock price, and then have to pay taxes on it. So even if it stays flat and you eventually get $15,000 from the stock, you have to pay taxes on it. So, it isn’t really $15,000 for each of you. And the one who got the checking account money has been driving around a car for several years and can then resell that car for some more cash.
It is very important to understand the tax implications of various accounts when developing a divorce agreement because not all money is the same. Sometimes couples decide to divide all their assets and debts equally so that both are shouldering the tax issues, risks of stock going up or down, house value changing, etc. But you may each have different needs and wants so this divide-everything-down-the-line plan does not work for everyone. For example, one person really wants to keep all of the pension/retirement accounts and one person really wants to stay living in the house but can’t afford to buy the other person out of the house. So, you may trade off one asset for the other. You keep all of the house and I will keep all of my pension/retirement monies and we will call it even. But sometimes it is not even.
And it does not have to be completely even. You are allowed to develop a plan that works for you. And if in the end one person has a little bit more and one person has a little less than 50% of your marital assets, but it is what you both want, then you have the power to make these choices. A divorce mediator can help you sort all of this out. It is very helpful to have a third party, that is neutral, walk you through the steps of laying out all of your finances and debts and discussing your plans for each line item on your marital balance sheet. At Westfield Mediation, LLC, all we do is divorce mediation. Our expert mediators can help you develop a plan that will work for your new future, while keeping in mind that not all marital assets on the balance sheet are created equal.
For more information about divorce mediation, please contact Randi M. Albert, JD, or Michelle Weinberg, M.Ed., Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, at Westfield Mediation, LLC, at 908.913.0373. View our website at www.westfieldnjmediation.com or email us at info@westfieldnjmediation.com
It is very important to understand the tax implications of various accounts when developing a divorce agreement because not all money is the same. Sometimes couples decide to divide all their assets and debts equally so that both are shouldering the tax issues, risks of stock going up or down, house value changing, etc. But you may each have different needs and wants so this divide-everything-down-the-line plan does not work for everyone. For example, one person really wants to keep all of the pension/retirement accounts and one person really wants to stay living in the house but can’t afford to buy the other person out of the house. So, you may trade off one asset for the other. You keep all of the house and I will keep all of my pension/retirement monies and we will call it even. But sometimes it is not even.
And it does not have to be completely even. You are allowed to develop a plan that works for you. And if in the end one person has a little bit more and one person has a little less than 50% of your marital assets, but it is what you both want, then you have the power to make these choices. A divorce mediator can help you sort all of this out. It is very helpful to have a third party, that is neutral, walk you through the steps of laying out all of your finances and debts and discussing your plans for each line item on your marital balance sheet. At Westfield Mediation, LLC, all we do is divorce mediation. Our expert mediators can help you develop a plan that will work for your new future, while keeping in mind that not all marital assets on the balance sheet are created equal.
For more information about divorce mediation, please contact Randi M. Albert, JD, or Michelle Weinberg, M.Ed., Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, at Westfield Mediation, LLC, at 908.913.0373. View our website at www.westfieldnjmediation.com or email us at info@westfieldnjmediation.com