When Arizona couples are ending their marriage, they often put undue stress on themselves by worrying too much about finances. Much of the stress can be attributed to the anxiety of not knowing how things will work out. A realistic focus on the likely outcomes and their financial consequences can actually relieve stress in many cases. Any person’s financial situation can be broken down into income, expenses, assets and liabilities.
Assets as a category include bank accounts, cash, money-market accounts, bonds, stocks, mutual funds, certificates of deposit and other things that have value. Art holdings and retirement accounts are also assets, and these are less liquid. For people who need liquid capital more than pure value, it’s important to try to get the more liquid assets in divorce. Different assets have different tax consequences in divorce as well. Retirement funds are usually pre-tax, for example, meaning that a person will have to pay income tax on distributions.
Real estate assets are often among the most important in a divorce because they are usually also among the most valuable. Splitting the family home can be difficult; in some cases, one spouse keeps the house and the other is compensated for the equity with other assets. In other cases, the family home is sold and the proceeds are divided. Couples who plan to sell the home should plan for who will cover the expenses associated with it until it is sold.
When a marriage comes to an end, there are a variety of divorce legal issues to take into account. Many estranged couples are able to negotiate a settlement agreement with the assistance of their respective attorneys instead of resorting to litigation.