Knowing your marital assets
Lauren R. Lock
The information contained in this material is being provided for general educational and informational purposes only, with the specific understanding that it is not intended to be used or interpreted as specific legal or tax advice. Lauren R. Lock and Women's Wealth Boutique are not affiliated entities.
The content is not intended to be a substitute for professional legal advice. Neither Lauren R. Lock nor Peeples Law are establishing any attorney-client relationship with this informational article. If you have questions, you should consult with a lawyer experienced in domestic law.
As a family law attorney, I want to share with you how you can prepare for that very first attorney consultation. The following suggestions of what to know about your marital assets will help your attorney and help you get the most out of your time.
So what do your marital assets look like?
The Home: You should have an understanding of what you believe your house is worth. Have an understanding of the mortgage balance so we can look at your equity.
The Bills: Have an understanding of how the bills are paid. Where do the bills come out of?
Asset Accounts: What assets and accounts do you have? What accounts does your spouse have? What do the retirement accounts look like? Do you have any investment accounts? Are there 529 accounts for the children?
Car Values: Maybe do a Kelly Blue Book value of your vehicles. Do you owe anything on your vehicles?
Income: Know your income and the income of your spouse. Income is extremely important when looking at child support if children are involved and then potentially discussing a rough estimate of alimony if that's also an element of your case.
Health Insurance: Who pays for the health insurance? How much is the health insurance?
Ultimate Outcome: What is the ultimate outcome that you want in your divorce? I know that sounds strange to go into a consultation and bring that up right at the beginning, but I think it can be really helpful to your attorney to understand, can this be amicable? Could this be an uncontested divorce or could this take a little bit more time because we're still trying to figure out what's going to happen. I know this is a very emotional time, so having an understanding of what you want the ultimate outcome to be can be very helpful for your attorney so that they can give you realistic expectations of what to expect.
If you know the above information, great. If you don't know this information, I would strongly encourage you to find out. It can be very helpful to you in understanding what you're looking at when splitting the marital, economic pie. And write these things down. You might be able to list them off right now, but when you get into that meeting and things are moving quickly, you may forget some of these things. So coming to the meeting prepared with a list of these assets with a value attached can be extremely helpful.
If you want to learn more, please come join us for the next Second Saturday Divorce Workshop. We'd love to have you and are excited for you to learn more about this process.
This content was generated with AI assistance. While we strive for accuracy, AI may not capture all current laws and market conditions. This information is for informational purposes only and should not be considered personalized financial advice. Always consult a licensed financial advisor for decisions tailored to your unique situation and goals. AI is used to enhance insights, not replace professional guidance.
