Stuff Wars

In a divorce, few issues are as hard to resolve as personal property—the stuff— when people disagree about it.

In the legal system, personal property means items that are not titled: furniture, clothing, electronics, small yard equipment, tools, and so on. Because these items are not titled, they are very hard to track down. Other assets, cars, houses, bank accounts, can all be traced. Ownership is recorded. There are statements, titles, and paperwork.

The hardest part of a personal property battle is proving the items even exist. If I say there were three TVs in the house when I moved out, and the other side says there was only one, how is a judge supposed to decide who is telling the truth, how many TVs there were, and who has them now?

Fortunately, in the vast majority of my divorces we do not have stuff wars. People divide their belongings on their own. If you are going through a divorce, do your best to work out the stuff yourself: it is the last thing you want to fight over?

To be on the safe side, when you move out of a home, take pictures of what goes with you and what stays behind. That documentation will help enormously if a dispute comes up later.

And be prepared to compromise. You never want to spend $5,000 in legal fees fighting over $500 worth of property. I had one case where the parties argued over how much toothpaste was left in the tube. In another, the fight was over a three-prong adapter. Trust me, you never want to go there.