Kennedy Law Associates' Blog

Some spouses end up feeling a little awkward putting all of their possessions in a shared home with a husband or wife. Little disagreements can arise over the smallest things. But that is often nothing to what can happen when people disagree how to divide all of their things in the case of divorce.

• What is at stake when spouses divide their assets?

North Carolina recognizes marital property as anything acquired or improved during a marriage. This may include any real estate a couple bought together or any income they earned while married. Yields on investments may also be part of marital property even if the investment was made before marriage.

• What is not considered marital property?

When parents go through a divorce, one of their main concerns is making sure their children have what they need during this time of transition. For many kids, what they need is regular access to both parents and a sense of security and stability. This can come with a thoughtful and carefully drafted parenting plan.

Every North Carolina family is different, and every parenting plan should meet the unique needs and objectives of the family. There is no one-size-fits-all solution to child custody, and you have the right to address concerns that are specific to your family in your parenting plan. This includes things such as medical needs, unique work schedules and other factors that impact you or your children.

One issue North Carolina couples who are divorcing may need to deal with is ensuring that there is sufficient life insurance in place. This may seem like a technicality, particularly for younger people, but an unexpected death can happen at any age, and it can significantly affect agreements regarding property division, alimony and child support.

For example, a person who is receiving alimony for 15 years might calculate how much that would be in total. The person paying alimony could then ensure that there is enough life insurance to cover this sum. The same might be done for child support. Parents should also take into account what college might cost and how much each parent would have contributed to college. It is important to keep in mind that there will be more expenses besides just room, board and tuition. The child will continue to have the same existing expenses as well.

When people who have developed extensive and valuable collections of art, real estate or other items decide to divorce, the fate of these assets may hang in the balance. High-profile couples in the real estate and art world have moved toward divorce, leading to hundreds of millions of dollars of prized art pieces at stake. One divorce between two major real estate investors involves $800 million of art while another pair of collectors' hundreds of millions in art has led to serious delays in finalizing the end of their marriage. In the latter case, the couple remains far apart on reaching a settlement on property division.

When both spouses have fewer assets, there may be little to fight over in court. While studies have found that upper-middle-class couples are more likely to have major disputes over asset division, the ultra-wealthy may also wrangle over the distribution of their items. This may be especially true when valuable collectors' items or art pieces are involved as each piece is individual and has a unique material and sentimental value that may be highly desirable to both parties. The judge in one recent case has urged the couple to reach a settlement by focusing on dividing the value of the estate rather than negotiating about specific pieces of their extensive collection.