RESOLVING SPOUSAL CONFLICT IN PROPERTY DIVISION

Divorces are never easy. Even when they are collaborative or when the couple is "amicable", the dissolution of shared, intertwined lives is more complex than people realize. When the time comes to divide property between spouses, this complexity becomes even more evident in the struggle to hold on to objects and things that no one has thought about in years. What should be a simple negotiation turns into a lengthy process because of competition and passive-aggressiveness. This is true whether the property in question has either sentimental value or monetary value.

A collaborative divorce or mediation can easily turn into an expensive and lengthy litigation if the spouses involved display combative attitudes regarding property division. If a mediator is skilled or experienced enough, he can employ some tactics that facilitates an equitable and fair division of property. The ultimate goal of this is for both spouses to leave the table without feeling abused and satisfied with what they end up with.

Sharing power is the key to handling contested property division. Both spouses should serve as a checker on each other and they should be encourage determine how to divide their formerly conjugal property on their own. The divide-and-choose method, time-tested by parents dealing with children arguing over splitting treats. This method works by empowering spouses to, metaphorically, cut the cake but let the other choose their half first. When adapted for property division, the rule should be for one spouse to create two lists of property that they perceive to be equally valued. The other spouse then picks which list they want. Because they don't know what the other will choose, this encourages one spouse to make up two equitable lists.

Of course, another method is just to take the power away completely instead of dividing it between the spouses. Within two steps, the auction method accomplishes this. The first step is for each spouse to enter a sealed "bid" for every item of property on the list. The highest bid wins and each won property's value is added to a list. When the auction ends, the value of each side's acquired property is added up and the difference between the values is made up from the other's property. When values are evened out, a "penalty" is awarded to a spouse who simply overbid to deny the other a piece of property. Spouses are therefore encouraged to bid sensibly because that the inequalities will be evened out in the end.

All these methods are intended to keep control of the division and ensure a fair distribution of the property. When spouses work within the imposed system, neither of them has a clear advantage and they both walk away from the table with properties that are equally valued. https://www.afairway.com/