MONTGOMERY REAL ESTATE APPRAISAL
Estates and Divorce
As a professional real estate appraisal firm, and due to our level of experience, we provide residential property appraisal and commercial property appraisal services to a couple who intend to separate their property and end their marriage. We understand that this is an emotional situation, so we work tediously to ensure that the property is valued correctly so that each party will receive the most value. Divorce requires that properties that have been shared between couples be divided in accordance with a judges orders, especially those properties that were acquired after the wedding or marriage. Then the property can be divided accordingly upon divorce. However, both parties can agree on how the property should be divided and methods on how to account for assets and debts. There is an assumption that properties acquired during the marriage are described as community property between the two married people. Assets that are a part of inheritances are usually not considered community property but, real estate can sometimes become a problem.
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Power of Attorney
Anyone who has a power of attorney has the full access to all your accounts and assets. Usually, your spouse will have a power of attorney over you and you over them while you are still married. In a divorce situation, the attorney needs to change, remove or rescind these power of attorney documents you have over each other. You must contact an attorney to do this effectively. Probably, the attorney that helped you draft the initial power of attorney document would be the best, if available. At this point, the power of attorney executed on this property needs to change or the power needs to be revoked, and a new one should be executed, if necessary.
Execute a New Will
Divorce also means you may/should update any existing will(s). If properties and specifically mentioned in a will, the will should be modified when ownership of the properties change in any way. It may be necessary to have the value of the property assessed via a legal real estate appraisal in order to establish an accurate value for disposition of the property or a buy out by one of the property co-owners. If the property is to remain shared, the will should be modified to explain this fact and all of the procedures that are required when/if the ownership changes or the property is disposed of in the future.
Decide the Property to Leave
After the agreement to separate, you need to consider a few key factors relating to the property in your name and accounts. However, if this happens, the other party has the exclusive right to contest. So, leave your spouse with the property he/she is entitled to acquire based on your state's or judges ruling. In most states, it is impossible to leave your spouse without any property or equivalent cash value of his/her share of the property.
Revisit your Estate Plan
Estate planning during divorce is quite challenging . You must revisit your estate plan to put together what needs to be updated due to the disolution of the marriage. Beneficiary designations are something very important that needs to be resolved when life situations change. This is true in situations where the estate owner who never updates their estate plan or wills dies unexpectedly. If the update is not done when required, it may lead to unintended and very negative personal and financial consequences.
Anyone who has a power of attorney has the full access to all your accounts and assets. Usually, your spouse will have a power of attorney over you and you over them while you are still married. In a divorce situation, the attorney needs to change, remove or rescind these power of attorney documents you have over each other. You must contact an attorney to do this effectively. Probably, the attorney that helped you draft the initial power of attorney document would be the best, if available. At this point, the power of attorney executed on this property needs to change or the power needs to be revoked, and a new one should be executed, if necessary.
Execute a New Will
Divorce also means you may/should update any existing will(s). If properties and specifically mentioned in a will, the will should be modified when ownership of the properties change in any way. It may be necessary to have the value of the property assessed via a legal real estate appraisal in order to establish an accurate value for disposition of the property or a buy out by one of the property co-owners. If the property is to remain shared, the will should be modified to explain this fact and all of the procedures that are required when/if the ownership changes or the property is disposed of in the future.
Decide the Property to Leave
After the agreement to separate, you need to consider a few key factors relating to the property in your name and accounts. However, if this happens, the other party has the exclusive right to contest. So, leave your spouse with the property he/she is entitled to acquire based on your state's or judges ruling. In most states, it is impossible to leave your spouse without any property or equivalent cash value of his/her share of the property.
Revisit your Estate Plan
Estate planning during divorce is quite challenging . You must revisit your estate plan to put together what needs to be updated due to the disolution of the marriage. Beneficiary designations are something very important that needs to be resolved when life situations change. This is true in situations where the estate owner who never updates their estate plan or wills dies unexpectedly. If the update is not done when required, it may lead to unintended and very negative personal and financial consequences.