Advice on Division of Assets

[Sloan55]

Hello everyone, first off I wanted to say what a huge resource this site has been to me, it is so detailed and has so much information that I have found myself staring at the screen for hours reading.

I have a couple of questions that I have not been able to find the answers to and thought I could pose to the community.

Ex planes to buy me out of the matrimonial home and live there for as long as financially possible with the 2 kids.

-when dividing assets of the house, my ex and myself are at odds in terms of what can be considered. I told her that appliances (not including dishwasher and built in range, because they are both appliances that cannot be removed) are considered assets and should be included in valuation. She argues that her lawyer told her that appliances are usually sold with the house so they cannot be counted.

-Same question as above but with regards to the children's furniture (i.e. bedroom sets). Both bedroom sets are less the 2 years old and were fairly expensive at the time of purchase. I argued with her that they have to be included as when I buy a new house, I will have to supply bedroom sets for the kids to sleep on, she argues that since they are the kids, that they should not be included.

Any help, or insight would be appreciated.

[Sloan55]

One more question that I just thought of. Do I start dividing things like dishes, pots and pans, towels etc... small stuff, or is that petty?

[DowntroddenDad]

Hello everyone, first off I wanted to say what a huge resource this site has been to me, it is so detailed and has so much information that I have found myself staring at the screen for hours reading.

I have a couple of questions that I have not been able to find the answers to and thought I could pose to the community.

Ex planes to buy me out of the matrimonial home and live there for as long as financially possible with the 2 kids.

-when dividing assets of the house, my ex and myself are at odds in terms of what can be considered. I told her that appliances (not including dishwasher and built in range, because they are both appliances that cannot be removed) are considered assets and should be included in valuation. She argues that her lawyer told her that appliances are usually sold with the house so they cannot be counted.

-Same question as above but with regards to the children's furniture (i.e. bedroom sets). Both bedroom sets are less the 2 years old and were fairly expensive at the time of purchase. I argued with her that they have to be included as when I buy a new house, I will have to supply bedroom sets for the kids to sleep on, she argues that since they are the kids, that they should not be included.

Any help, or insight would be appreciated.

One simple piece of advice, never take advice from your soon to be ex spouses lawyer.

Houses are sold with and without appliances all the time, and it doesn't make an appreciable difference in the value of the house. Some buyers would prefer to buy new ones so that they get their preference, some don't want the hassle.

The bedroom sets are assets that need to be split like any other. As used furniture they probably aren't worth as much as you think, and may not be worth an hour of a lawyers time to fight over it.

[HammerDad]

For the appliances, my question is, when the valuation was done on the house, did such valuation include the appliances? If it did, then they should be included as part of the value of the house. It they are not, then they should be considered assets to be equalized. So my answer would be a solid - it depends. I also assume you had a proper valuation done by an appraiser. While some real estate agents are appraisers, most are not. I would get proper valuations done, one by you and one by her. Ensure that the appraisal includes the appliances (to save on hassles) and use amount in the middle. If the numbers are way off, get a third valuation.

For the kids furniture, the kids don't own anything. They have no assets. It should be split. But with that being said, how much are we talking about? Because it better be worth over a few thousand to you to make it worth your while fighting over. Edit - Downtrodden makes a great point. The furniture is used now. You have to get a value on them as used, not the purchase price. A fair value would be what you would have to pay to pick up a similar set in similar condition from Kijiji or something.

[Sloan55]

Thanks to both for your answers. The appraisals are being done next week, good advise on including them in the value of the appraisal, I will propose that to the ex. As for the furniture, we are talking that they were worth probably $3000 total when we bought them (approx. 2 years ago for 1 set and 6 months ago for the other set). They are probably still worth atleast $1000 total, in my opinion, worth splitting the cost, especially the way I am feeling now that my wife is going to be making more money then me every month, most of it tax free.

[DowntroddenDad]

Thanks to both for your answers. The appraisals are being done next week, good advise on including them in the value of the appraisal, I will propose that to the ex. As for the furniture, we are talking that they were worth probably $3000 total when we bought them (approx. 2 years ago for 1 set and 6 months ago for the other set). They are probably still worth atleast $1000 total, in my opinion, worth splitting the cost, especially the way I am feeling now that my wife is going to be making more money then me every month, most of it tax free.

Lets do the math: Value of the furniture: $1000. Value of your half $500. Cost for a lawyer to spend an hour fighting for it - $400. You have to ask yourself is it worth it. You can be right, and be broke too. Take your feelings out of it.

[Sloan55]

Lawyers were only used initially for advice, we plan on completing the separation agreement ourselves, having lawyers look it over and then sign off on it, so I won't be fighting lawyers, just the ex

[Rioe]

Will your new home come with appliances included or not? If yes, include the current ones in the valuation of the matrimonial home as they will be staying there. If your new home won't have any, you get half of them.

She gets the built in appliances as they are hard to move. You get the rest as they are more mobile. You each have to buy only a couple of new appliances. You get one kid's bedroom set, she keeps the other. You each only have to buy one new set, and each kid gets a new one. You get all the towels, she keeps the sheets. She keeps the dishes and cutlery and utensils, you get the pots and pans and glasses. You each only have to buy only some new kitchen things. You take the upstairs couch, she keeps the downstairs couch. Etc.

Go through the house together and each pick one thing in turn till you have it all divided up. You will probably find yourself picking things of comparable value. Arguing about it in court just means neither of you will be able to afford the new stuff you will need.