Emotions are flying high during a divorce, but it’s crucial to think ahead. The divorce and child custody lawyers in Frisco, TX at Woods & Matlock can help you make sure you’re planning for the future as you proceed with the divorce. A Texas court will consider assets as: your bank account holdings, property, investments, vacation homes, furniture, and all belongings you purchased, earned, or were given as a married couple.
Tips for settlement
Here are some of the most essential aspects to protecting your assets when faced with divorce. Remember that though these ideas will help you plan for your divorce, you can only get reliable legal advice from an attorney. Our divorce and child custody lawyers in Frisco, TX can help.
- Think from your spouse’s perspective. What will they want in terms of assets? Make a list of what items they will fight tooth and nail to keep. Even if something isn’t valuable to you, if you can use it as leverage to get something important later on, it might be best to keep it as a negotiation tool during a key moment in settlement.
- Keep a careful record at the start. As soon as talk of divorce begins, you should start taking an inventory of the joint assets you share with your spouse. It’s important to do this right away because situations change quickly. You or your spouse may decide to move out of the family home. Your spouse may try to downplay or hide assets or lock you out of joint accounts. Having a clear picture will help you be able to prioritize the assets you really want and get a picture of what 50/50 really looks like.
- Make sure to know the difference between pretax and after-tax values. Trading access to a 401(k) account for a bank account could either cost you heavily or work out well in your favor. If you agree to take $50,000 in a 401(k) in exchange for your spouse keeping the $50,000 in the bank account, you’ve made an agreement where your spouse can access their money any time without taxes but you won’t be able to pull out money without incurring taxes each time. If you suddenly wanted to cash out the 401(k), you’d be left with less than half of the amount after taxes.
- Consider selling off the items you can’t agree on. If you and your spouse can’t seem to agree over who will keep an asset, you could sell it and split the proceeds. Agreements can be reached more easily if your spouse knows you are willing to sell the item rather than drag out an argument.
- Stay neutral. Don’t get too attached to a particular asset. As much as possible, taking the sell it off approach to items will let you settle more quickly than fighting tit for tat over every single possession you own.Remember items like stocks can be sold and you can buy whatever you want to replace them.
If you need help protecting your assets in a divorce, Woods & Matlock can help. Call us today to set up a brief free phone consultation with our divorce and child custody lawyers in Frisco, TX at 972-972-8820.