If you are going through a divorce, there are many things you will need to take care of. One of these things is your marital assets. Before you lose something that you want to keep, below are some tips on how to take care of the assets in your marriage.

Assets Before Marriage

If you already had assets when you entered your marriage, these are known as non-marital assets. For example, you may already own the home that you and your spouse move into, valuable jewelry, vehicles, and more. This also includes any other property you may own, such as a piece of land, a building, etc.

For you to keep the non-marital assets that you own, you must provide the court with proof that you own them. This may be difficult to do for some items, such as jewelry, furniture, and other such items. You would need the receipt or bill of sale from when you purchased these items showing your name and the date purchased. It will be easy for things like your home and land, however, as you will have all the paperwork needed to prove you are the owner.

Marital Assets

Assets that are purchased after the marriage are known as marital assets. This includes things you purchase on your own, things your spouse purchases, and the things you purchase together. These things are generally split between each of you. If it is a home, you may be required to sell the home or you or your spouse could purchase their share of the home to stay in it.

If you stayed home with children while your spouse worked, a court will have the years that you did not work shown as a value, which will then be computed into dollars. The court will determine this when they are deciding how to equitably distribute your assets.

Divorce Lawyer

If you and your spouse are having problems dividing your marital assets, you should hire a divorce lawyer immediately. They can work with your spouse's attorney to help come up with a solution. You and your lawyer and your spouse and their lawyer may sit down at one of the lawyer's offices to try to come to an agreement.

If you are not able to come to an agreement, your divorce lawyer will take the matter to court for a judge to decide.

Talk with the divorce lawyer that you hire about this information or speak with a firm such as Winstein, Kavensky & Cunningham, LLC. to learn more.