Division of possessions in separation and divorce.

[dmom]

Married 13 years, 2 kids 12 and 8, boys. Separating, looking to draw up separation agreement; confused about how possessions are distributed. No property; rented apartment, leased car. I have been stay at home mom for most part, we have furniture, electronics etc. My bedroom set and dining table set, given to me as a marriage gift by my parents (for those of you familiar with the Indian concept of 'dowry'. Do I get to keep my gifts, and him his? And we share any increase in their value? Was given some jewellery by his and my parents, given to the bride, as is tradition, in Indian weddings, when we got married. Sold that some years back, its there no more, but again, it was a gift to me, the bride and I was free to do with it as I please.
Minus the bed-set and dining table given to me by my parents (there was a three piece couch set, which we gave to his brother and bought a new one some years back), the furniture, electronics and kitchen pots, pans, linens etc) is about $2000-2500, if that. With my bed-set and dining table in the mix, we can bump it up to $2500-3000, if that.
I'm unemployed, he got laid off, severance package ends end of august, he was making about 50k, he has the potential of making 50k or more. I work admin/customer service, with very limited work experience and outdated community college diploma, have the potential of making between 25-30k, if that.
We intend to share child custody, 50-50, I intend to get CS and SS from him.
I want an idea of how splitting of possessions will go; amounts I mentioned may seem insignificant, but to me, its a fortune. No job, little savings, and basically having to start from scratch.
Please advise.

[standing on the sidelines]

put garage sale value on everything to figure out value. Did your parents give you the stuff before the marriage??

Doesnt matter what he is capable of making, from the way it was worded he isnt working right now. Are you working right now?? If so he may be able to go after you for SS. Dont forget also that you will have to use the offset method for child support as your are sharing custody 50-50, you may end up paying him.

As for the rented premises you should call the landlord and explain the situation to make him aware, especially if you are the one who is moving out so that your name is no longer tied to the apartment legally, same for the leased car. If he keeps the car and doesnt pay and the lease is in both names, your credit will be affected also.

[dmom]

Hi, thanks for the feedback.
No, I am unemployed, as is he.
We are both looking for work.
His severance package ends end of August.
Dowry is usually given to the girl when she gets married; she takes it with her to her new home shared with husband. In my case, we moved in with my inlaws, and my parents gave me things when we (my husband and I ) bought our own home, 2 years after we got married.
The values I mentioned are garage sale values, as best as I could estimate.
My father sold some property and gave me and my siblings an early inheritance, about $10,000 each, about five years back. I still have about $9000 of that. That is all I have.
The apartment landlords are his parents, we were renting it from them, no official lease, they want it vacated in a month or so and intend to sell it.
The car lease is in his name.
Whats the situation look like now?
Thanks in advance.

[blinkandimgone]

The car lease is his, the value of the assets is split, not necessarily the assets themselves. If you can work out who takes what between the two of you then great, if not then use the dollar value to determine which of you keeps the assets and which of you will take cash or something else in exchange for it. The inheritance money, if kept seperate and apart from all other finances would be yours, I believe. If it was put into a joint account then you will split it.

CS in a 50-50 arrangement is based on the offset method, will depend on how much each of you is making so you may get something from him or you may end up paying CS to him if you're making more once employed. Spousal support will depend on your incomes as well. If you're making 45% of what he makes, it's unlikely you'll get any and if you do it would be a very small amount.

[dmom]

Thank you, that answers a lot of my questions.