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How do you divide artwork in divorce?

On Behalf of | May 19, 2021 | Divorce |

Your divorce not only involves substantial assets, but also unique ones. You and your soon-to-be-ex collected several pieces of art during your marriage, and you want to know how to divide them fairly.

The American Bar Association breaks down what happens to artwork in marital splits. Get a foundational understanding of navigating this unique aspect of divorce.

Special considerations

Before divvying up art, judges must have specific details concerning the work. For example, are all your art pieces worth the same now as they were when you originally purchased them? Did you and your current spouse buy the art while married or before? Did either of you inherit any works in question?

Martial property

The state of Texas considers all property that a couple purchases during their marriage as marital property. For all works of art you and your current spouse wish to divide, gather evidence showing when you purchased them. Anything purchased before you married may become non-marital property.

Future proceeds

For all artwork deemed marital property, you may need to take a unique approach to dividing it and handling future profits made from the work. One option is one person maintains the art’s copyright while the other possesses the physical work. If you and your soon-to-be-former-partner have difficulty deciding how to split the collection, it may help to work with a professional experienced with such matters.

Creating art

Maybe rather than buying art, you created pieces while married. You may not call your work “property” to divide, but divorce courts do not yet have a precedent for handling such belongings.

Marital splits involving non-traditional assets require untraditional solutions. An open mind and the right information may help you reach a viable agreement.

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