Joe and Sophie, a fictional couple, are undergoing a divorce. The parties have been married for ten $(10)$ years. They have accumulated assets during their marriage and now they are seeking a fair and equitable distribution of property. Sophie has come to your office and is seeking advice on how the property will likely be divided. Their assets are as follows:

Asset $1$: Lakefront Property: Purchase Price: $$100,000$; FMV: $$200,000$

Owned by Sophie prior to the marriage but utilized by both parties as the marital residence.

Asset $2$: $2011$ Toyota RAV $4$ Hybrid FMV: $$22,000$

Owned by Sophie prior to the marriage.

Asset $3$: $2016$ Jeep Wrangler Sport FMV: $$22,000$

Received when Joe traded in his $2012$ Nissan Ultima Pro

Asset $4$: Art Collection FMV: $$150,000$

While the parties were both avid Thomas Kinkade collectors before the marriage, the parties bought and sold several pieces and are now left with ten Star Wars themed Thomas Kinkade originals $($none of which were owned prior to the marriage$)$

$1.$ Identify and define each step to property distribution.

$2.$ Apply each step to the four pieces. Explain your reasoning.

$3.$ Advise Sophie on a proposal she could make during mediation to equitably divide the property.

Answer rating: 100% (QA)

Property Distribution in Divorce A StepbyStep Approach for Sophie Dividing property during a divorce can be complex but heres a breakdown of the steps involved and how they might apply to Sophies situ... View the full answer