When you got married, you and your spouse decided to work as a team to acquire assets that make it possible for you to enjoy life together. If your marriage doesn’t work out, you’re going to have to divide those assets, but there’s more to property division than assets. You also have to divide the debts of the marriage.
Determining how to handle property division can be challenging, especially if you and your ex don’t agree on how to split everything. Understanding a bit about the process might be beneficial.
Liquidating assets might be necessary
Each debt that was acquired in the marriage has to be assigned to a party unless it’s paid off. Creditors aren’t a party in your divorce proceedings, so they don’t have to abide by the order that’s set. Instead, they can hold you and your ex both liable for unpaid debts.
Because of the possibility of creditors reporting unpaid debts to credit reporting agencies, some couples opt to liquidate assets so they can pay the debts off. This means they don’t have to worry about paying the debts and will have a fresh financial start after the divorce.
Dividing the assets of the marriage can also be complicated. Starting with the larger assets might be the best option. From there, you can use the smaller assets to balance out the value of the larger ones.
Working with someone who’s familiar with the property division process may make these decisions a little easier. It’s critical to evaluate the options so you can do what you feel is in your best interests.