Perhaps you have shelves upon shelves of first edition books lining the walls of your home. Or your library of albums amassed over the years rivals any record store in North Carolina. Whatever you collect, these items may have incalculable emotional and sentimental value to you, on top of their potentially significant financial value.
They hold the same emotional value to your spouse as well. So, if you face a divorce, how exactly do you assess and address your collection?
Will you have to carve up the collectibles?
Yes, generally in a divorce, you will have to divide the collection you curated throughout your marriage. From antiques to artwork, you will have to determine how to divide and distribute the items in your collection that are considered marital property.
This process can be complicated. After all, you cannot physically divide that precious original album. It is likely one person will keep the item in question, or spouses may agree to sell it and divide the profits. With the emotional ties you may have to your collectibles, either option may be a stressful thought. However, you can prepare yourself – and your collection – for this procedure.
3 critical questions to answer
To manage the items you cherish and worked hard to compile, it will help to know the answers to the following questions:
- What is the value of each item? It will be essential to value each item and the collection as a whole. Each item’s value will play a key role when negotiating how to divide the collection pieces that are marital property fairly.
- Which pieces did you own before the marriage? Perhaps you started your collection long before you walked down the aisle. Create a list of each piece you accumulated before your marriage. These items are likely separate property, and therefore will not be a part of the division of your marital property. You keep your separate property in a divorce.
- Are there gifts in your collection? Your friends and family know very well that you are an avid collector. Over the years, they may have given you collectibles as gifts. Under North Carolina law, gifts given specifically to you are considered your separate property.
Once you determine what in your collection is separate property versus marital property, and obtain proper valuations, then you can begin the process of figuring out how to manage and divvy up the collectibles. When passion meets property division, the situation can quickly become tense, and negotiations stressful. Understanding your property rights and seeking experienced counsel can help you protect your stake in the collection you cultivated.