How Is Rental Property Divided in a Divorce?

One of the first things clients tell our Albany divorce lawyers is that they’re worried that it will cost too much money to get divorced. They have heard horror stories from friends and family. They don’t want to say goodbye to a lot of their marital assets. This includes rental properties and vacation homes. The truth is that any high-end divorce is going to be much more complex.

You need the help of a divorce attorney in Albany who will make sure you are treated fairly. They will ensure that the rental properties are divided equally or that you receive a comparable amount in other property. Here, we will discuss how rental properties and vacation homes are treated in your divorce.

If you still have questions or are considering filing for divorce, contact one of our Albany divorce lawyers right away.

You and Your Spouse Will Have to Divide All Real and Personal Property

One of the hardest parts of getting a divorce is fighting over property. For the most part, each piece of real property you own must be appraised, evaluated, and then assigned ownership. If all the properties are to be sold, that simplifies things a great bit. At the same time, you will have personal property that needs to be divided as well.

This includes everything from expensive jewelry and artwork to cars, boats, and RVs. Given the high value of some of these items, it may be just as difficult to divide these items as it is to divide your rental and vacation homes. Just trust that your Albany divorce lawyer has your best interests in mind when they do this.

Your Marital Home is Typically the Most Critical Asset You Have

For most of our clients, ownership of the marital home is a critical issue. If you and your spouse have children under the age of eighteen, you may want them to stay in the marital home. Typically, what our Albany divorce lawyers do is arrange for the custodial parent to stay in the marital home, at least for a few years.

Once the kids graduate, the house can be sold, and the proceeds will be divided. In the meantime, the non-custodial parent will receive a greater share of the other real property. This will make up for the value of the home enjoyed by the custodial parent in the interim.

If you and your spouse have no ties to the marital home, it will make your divorce attorney in Albany’s job even easier. They will simply treat it as just another piece of property. This way, it can be sold and the proceeds can be used to come up with a fair equitable distribution of marital property.

Rental Properties Will Be Treated the Same Way as All Other Property

In most high-end divorces our Albany divorce lawyers handle, there are numerous properties involved. If you and your spouse have been together for a long time, you have probably made investments in real property.

Aside from your marital home, there could be several rental properties or vacation homes that the two of you purchased during the marriage. It’s not as easy as many of the uncontested divorces we handle. However, the process is still the same.

Albany Divorce Lawyer

Your divorce attorney in Albany will have all the properties appraised. They will then determine what each spouse’s interest is in these properties. They will engage in extensive negotiations with your spouse’s Albany divorce lawyer to divide these assets fairly. Between your real property and personal property, you could be talking about hundreds of thousands of dollars.

There is probably a great amount of money tied up in investments and retirement accounts as well. What your divorce attorney in Albany will do is use these other assets to balance out the equity in the pieces of real property. This way, everyone walks away from the marital settlement agreement knowing they got their fair share.

Most Divorce Attorneys in Albany Will Negotiate an Equitable Distribution Package

One thing we want to make clear is that you may not have to sell all of your rental properties and divide the proceeds. Many of our clients prefer to negotiate tradeoffs with their spouse. For example, your Albany divorce lawyer may agree to an arrangement where you keep two of the rental properties and forgo your interest in the marital home.

Or perhaps you split the rental properties and sell the marital home. There’s no way to know exactly what arrangement will work for you until your divorce attorney in Albany reviews your case in detail. Just know that there is a good chance that your lawyer will be able to work something out so that you aren’t forced to sell all of your joint assets.

Rest Assured That Your Albany Divorce Lawyer Will Negotiate a Fair Settlement

One of the reasons so many people are afraid to get divorced is that they don’t want to lose their assets. You and your spouse may have spent years, even decades, building your assets. When you get divorced, these assets must be divided between the two of you.

Your Albany divorce lawyer must consider any mortgages or secured loans against your real property. They also have to hire a professional to appraise your real property and high-value personal property. This is no easy feat and it is not something we recommend you do yourself.

Put your faith in our divorce attorneys in Albany. Our associates have decades of combined experience handling high-end divorce cases. There is very little we haven’t seen before. Speak with a seasoned divorce lawyer before you make any final decisions. Do not agree to any division of property before you talk to a divorce lawyer. If your spouse has retained counsel, you need to consider doing the same.

You don’t want to be at a disadvantage. Nor do you want to be taken advantage of. Call our office today and we can find a date and time that works for you to come into the office. This way, you can gain peace of mind in knowing that you have an experienced divorce attorney in Albany handling your legal matters. This lets you focus on starting the next phase in your life.

Read More Related Articles