If you are planning to end your marriage, you have probably already thought about dividing your marital estate. Essentially, the marital estate is everything you and your spouse own, including your home, cars, savings and cash. During either a simplified or standard divorce, you usually must also divide marital debt.
In Florida, divorcing spouses typically receive an equitable share of the marital estate. While you may not get exactly half under this approach, you should end up with a fair percentage. When negotiating property division, do not forget to include all assets. Here are three that may be easy to overlook.
1. Airline miles and rewards points
Accumulating airline miles and other rewards points is not only fun but it also may save you a considerable amount of money on flights, goods and other purchases. If you accrued the points during your marriage, there is a good chance they are a divisible part of the marital estate.
2. Bonuses
Clearly, the wages you and your spouse earn during your marriage are divisible during divorce. You should not forget to address bonuses, though. After all, even if your spouse’s bonus is set to arrive after your divorce is final, you probably have some ownership interest in it.
3. Intellectual property
While you probably can easily identify tangible property for division during your divorce, you should not leave intangible property out of your settlement negotiations. Intangible property may include copyrights, patents, trademarks and any other intellectual property that is part of the marital estate.
Ultimately, because intellectual property may become exceedingly valuable in the future, you must be sure you receive your fair share of it when wrapping up your marriage.