Dividing High Value Items in Divorce: Art, Rare Collectibles, Antiques, Yachts, Jewelry
Valuation, Tax, and Other Considerations When Marital Assets Include High Value, One-of-a Kind Assets
Course Details
- smart_display Format
On-Demand
- signal_cellular_alt Difficulty Level
- work Practice Area
Family Law
- event Date
Tuesday, May 12, 2020
- schedule Time
1:00 p.m. ET./10:00 a.m. PT
- timer Program Length
90 minutes
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This 90-minute webinar is eligible in most states for 1.5 CLE credits.
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This CLE course will discuss the factors divorce counsel should consider when dividing or liquidating valuable art, collectibles (stamps and coins, rare antiques, baseball cards, etc.), yachts, aircrafts, and other one-of-a-kind items.
Mr. Lounsberry is a family law practitioner handling both simple and complex family law cases, including divorce, property division, support, child custody, visitation, and international family law issues.
Mr. Owens has represented Massachusetts divorce clients with collective assets exceeding $100 million. His courtroom demeanor emphasizes focus, control and a mastery of the facts and law, as they apply in each client’s case. Among his peers, Mr. Owens has earned a reputation as a hard-nosed, no-nonsense negotiator who understands the strengths and weaknesses of both parties’ cases.
Parties who have carefully selected and curated valuable artwork, antiques, cars, boats, or rare collectibles during their marriage may be unable to resolve who should keep this valuable property after the divorce. Those items may also represent a significant percentage of the couple's wealth.
With such high-value assets, the parties and their counsel may dedicate an extraordinary amount of effort on whether an item constitutes marital property. Counsel must prepare for arguments over the timing of the acquisition, the source of funds for the acquisition, and whether the asset was acquired by the sale of a premarital asset.
Unlike other kinds of property that have a recognizable and broad market, high-value art and collectibles have a specialized, subjective, and more narrow audience who may be accessible only through experienced experts. Special care is required to recognize and appraise these types of assets properly, and often experts are difficult to retain. Further, the sale of an appreciated asset may trigger unexpected tax consequences that have to be factored into the global settlement, tax planning, and estate planning.
Listen as this panel, well-versed in the intersection of art (and other collections) and divorce, translates these complex principles into practical guidance, and prepares counsel to address these issues head-on both in negotiation and court.
- Identifying marital property
- Jointly purchased before marriage
- Renovations or restorations during a marriage
- Source of funds, heirlooms, inheritances
- Impact of prenuptial agreements and appreciation
- Selecting the experts
- Appraisals vs. valuation
- Auction vs. private sale
- Impact of liens
- Authenticity documentation
- Timing issues
- Tax and estate planning consequences
- Issues with specific categories
- When artists and other artisans divorce
- Yachts and boats
- Guns and horses
The panel will review and discuss questions such as:
- What are the types of valuable properties that cause the greatest challenges?
- Do "typical" divorce principles play a role in resolving these disputes?
- What creative solutions can be pursued beyond "sell and divide"?
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