Dividing property takes time when you’re going through a divorce, especially if you’re going to try to work out the terms through mediation or other negotiations. For individuals who have considerable assets, working through them all can take a lot of thought. Not only do you have to think about the bigger assets like homes and vehicles, you also have to split up the smaller ones like appliances and housewares.
We realize that this will take work, but you’ve got to think ahead of time about what assets you can handle. One thing to remember is that you’ll only have your income to count on so some assets might put too much pressure on your budget because of the cost of them. Setting your budget in place before you go into the negotiations can help you to know what you’ll be able to afford and what you might need to bypass as you compromise with your ex.
Another consideration for the process is that the debts will likely have to be split unless there’s a plan in place to sell assets to pay off debts. If it’s possible to sell things off to pay down debt, this may be preferable so that neither person has to worry about paying for those or how they might be impacted if the other person doesn’t pay for them.
In Oregon, property division settlements must be equitable. They won’t necessarily be equal, so that shouldn’t be your goal. We can help you to explore the possibilities so that you know what may happen. We can work to protect your interests throughout the process.