The two spouses generally have most of the control over how their assets are divided during a divorce. However, there may be instances where the determination over a piece of property rests with a local court. The role of Albany courts in regards to the division of assets is to make the difficult choices that the two parties have been unable to solve. A skilled property division attorney could help someone understand how to best achieve a fair outcome and what a court might do to resolve asset disputes.
When it comes to property distribution, anything that is left unsettled by the divorcing spouses will have to be divided at trial. A court takes in all of the physical evidence and participant testimony, reviews them, and must divide the property or assets equitably under New York state standards.
Individuals may still decide to settle what they would like under their own terms, but the court must meet certain standards if they are having the final say. The role of Albany courts is to be a fair arbiter when dividing marital assets.
Generally, when there is a lack of agreement for how to divide an asset (usually a vehicle, or real property such as a marital residence or other owned buildings), and there are no equitable considerations to be made one way or another, the court will often decide to order the sale of the property.
A sale is typically easier to implement than a full property division because it can be done immediately and does not require an appraisal. Equitable consideration, including appraisals, lends itself to subjective opinions which can be time-consuming and disputed. As a result, large pieces of personal property such as RV’s, boats, and real estate often get put up for sale by the court.
A property settlement agreement is a divorce contract executed by both parties wherein they acknowledge that financial disclosure and property disclosure have occurred, that they have listed all of the items that are to be divided, and that they have agreed on a method of how to divide them.
The settlement agreement commonly addresses:
A court in Albany can play a role in implementing property settlement agreements to divide marital assets.
Courts and the divorcing spouses are encouraged to be pragmatic when they are engaging in property division. If it is likely that a person would be unable to upkeep the mortgage on an item of personal property, then that would be an equitable consideration when discussing asset division. If the property cannot be adequately maintained once it is owned solely by one person, it would lose much of its value.
Likely outcomes are an important factor when considering property settlement and equitable distribution. If the item is probably going to lose its value, it may be worth considering whether it is equitable to trade that item for a different asset that will end up increasing in value.
There are numerous considerations to account for when dividing property in a divorce. While this may be complicated for the spouses to understand on their own, the law allows an Albany court to play a key role in dividing assets equitably. An experienced lawyer could help you prepare for this and write a property settlement agreement. Contact someone now to discuss your situation.
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