Division of Marital Assets in New York
New York is an equitable distribution state with respect to dividing property during the divorce or legal separation process. This means that the court is primarily interested in fairness, rather than equality. And when the property involved is complex, or includes businesses or other hard-to-value assets, the task of arriving at an equitable division becomes more challenging.
At The Trotto Law Firm in Rochester, New York, our lawyer helps clients work through the issues associated with complex marital asset division. Attorney Jonathan C. Trotto is skilled at analyzing complicated marital estates. Moreover, he is persistent and determined — critical qualities when determining the correct value for an asset or for separating marital and non-marital property.
Examples of Marital Assets
Marital assets can include any property acquired during the marriage. The challenge is to separate marital property from the non-marital (non-community) property. In cases where the property includes businesses or high-value objects, valuation is often complicated and separation of assets more difficult. Our law firm helps clients when the property includes assets such as:
- Family businesses
- Significant stock portfolios
- Partnerships
- Licenses and professional degrees
- Large inheritances
- Evidence that assets were hidden or transfer of the assets disguised
- Pensions, retirement accounts, stock options and bonuses
- Substantial debt
- Tax liabilities
- Houses, land, vacation properties and other real estate
- Life insurance policies
When seeking an equitable distribution of assets, our attorney helps you identify which assets are marital versus non-marital. Money and assets are frequently co-mingled during marriage; it is often difficult to distinguish property acquired jointly from property acquired before the marriage or separately during the marriage. This is especially true when the parties were married for many years.
Even Marital Estates of Modest Value Can Be Complicated
Even if you believe that your marital estate is modest, if it includes any of the assets listed above, dividing it equitably could be challenging. And the challenge doesn't stop there. Property settlements do not occur in a vacuum. They affect or are affected by child support, spousal maintenance, estate plans and future inheritances. Our law firm can help you incorporate changes necessitated by marital asset division into your will, trust or beneficiary listings.
Contact The Trotto Law Firm in Rochester, New York, to speak with a lawyer about marital asset division and property settlements.
