Divorce can be complicated no matter how long you have been married, whether or not you share kids, or have made a home purchase. One of the most important things to consider when you decide to divorce is how to divide your joint property, assets and debt. Minnesota law requires that all joint assets are divided fairly and equitably. Generally, this involves assigning a value to all of your assets so that your settlement can be equally divided. It is important to know that assets are not the only thing that are divided – you also must equitably share the debt that you have accrued during the time of your marriage.
Fair and Equitable Division of Property
While you certainly can hire a divorce attorney to help manage this, working with a lawyer is not the only path forward for couples who are looking to divorce and minimize the time and cost. Divorce mediation is a highly effective tool for reaching a divorce settlement that is fair, equitable and even less stressful than a court battle. Johnson Mediation has extensive experience with helping couples with the process of dividing property during divorce in a way that follows the law, minimizes conflict, and resolves issues with the best possible outcome. Here are some of the strategies and steps that we advise our clients to take as they navigate this part of the divorce process:
1. Gather financial documents: Pulling together your financial documents will help the process of dividing joint property. This includes financial documents related to your property (home, cars, etc.), retirement, investments, credit card debt and bank account information.
2. Create a list of your marital possessions: We recommend that our clients make an exhaustive list of your possessions – this includes furniture, jewelry and anything acquired during your marriage. Anything that you owned before marriage or were given and is in your name only can be excluded from this list, but we recommend you detail all for the negotiations.
3. Consider your priority items: Regardless of the monetary value assigned to each item you share; you obviously have emotional attachment to certain items that goes well beyond the financial value. So, as you make your lists, you should note the items that mean the most to you. As you work with our staff to divide your property, we will encourage discussion that allows each individual to be able to negotiate for items that have special meaning to one party or the other.
Minnesota Divorce Mediation Services
For more information about our approach to dividing your joint property, assets and debts during the divorce process, give Johnson Mediation a call at 952-401-7599 to schedule a free consultation.
