How to Handle Family Heirlooms in your Divorce

There are a lot of financial considerations you have to take into account when navigating divorce. Division of the marital home, bank accounts and retirement assets can all be important for your future, but there are probably other assets that are near and dear to you. This is especially true with family heirlooms.

Consider whether the heirloom is individually owned

Remember, only marital property is subjected to the property division process. Therefore, if you can show that your family heirlooms are individually owned, then you don’t have to worry about losing them in the divorce. To determine whether your family heirlooms are individually owned, consider when the assets were acquired and whether your spouse devoted any time, energy, or other resources to help restore the heirlooms in question.

Find other sentimental assets that your spouse wants

If you’re unsuccessful in keeping family heirlooms out of the marital estate, then you need to devise a negotiation strategy. One way to do this is by identifying other assets with sentimental value that are more important to your spouse than they are to you. You can then use these assets as leverage to keep your family heirlooms without having to give up a lot of financial resources to retain them.

Are you still worried about dealing with family heirlooms in your divorce?

If after reading the above, you’re still worried about family heirlooms in your divorce, then think through the divorce legal strategies that you might have at your disposal. If you’re unsure of your legal options, then discuss the matter with your attorney.