Bad News or Good News? Economy Cuts Asset Values, Creates New Divorce Issues
The rollercoaster ride that the economy has been on in recent months is creating new issues for divorcing couples. Real estate that was worth much more only a year or two ago has plummeted in value. And a number of soon-to-be-ex-spouses with high-paying jobs suddenly have no employment at all.
Some couples are postponing divorces as a result, and divorce rates dropped by 5 to 10 percent last year in New York and the Chicago and Miami metropolitan areas. But other individuals are eager to conclude their property settlements, at a significantly lower cost than they originally expected, reports Bloomberg. Meanwhile, the new economic regime is creating unusual problems for the legal system such as how to handle a case in which both spouses have lost their jobs.
“A lot of my male clients are loving it,” says attorney Suzanne Bracker of New York. “They’re handing me the check and saying, ‘Hurry this up. Let’s get this over with.’ ”
But some women who were given the family home earlier as part of a divorce settlement are now seeking to “retrade,” due to sinking property values. Their best bet for accomplishing this feat is to still have in hand something else that the ex-spouse wants, such as a sports car or favorite painting, says attorney Wendy Burgower of Houston. “If you’ve got absolutely nothing to offer, you’re asking for a gift.”
At least one divorcing husband, however, isn’t happy right now about the current economic windfall: Rick Morton, a principal in a New York-based real estate company, is fighting a Westchester County judge’s ruling that assets should be valued, for property settlement purposes, at their 2007 level, the news agency reports.
