Dividing Digital Assets after Divorce in North Carolina

When to Update Your Will After a Divorce in North Carolina

The end of your marriage does not need to be the end of your life. However, if you hope to move forward with financial stability, you must ensure all your assets are divided fairly. This includes not only your physical property but conceptual items, including digital assets. The division of these assets and debts can often be complex.

However, when you have our experienced North Carolina digital asset division lawyers at Breeden Law Office working for you, you can protect yourself and your future. Contact our team for a confidential case review today and learn more about the steps you need to take to ensure the division of your marital assets is handled fairly.

What Are Digital Assets?

Digital assets can take multiple forms. However, they are intangible, which makes them more difficult to quantify. Some examples of digital assets could include:

• Digital copies of books
• Digital copies of movies
• Online auctions
• Online sales
• Websites
• Online games
• Media accounts
• Credits from royalty programs
• Software
• Copies of financial documents
• Anything stored on computers, tablets, or smartphones
• Bitcoin
• Spreadsheets
• Files and documents
• Social media content
• Streaming accounts
• Money held in PayPal or other types of banking accounts
• Family videos or photos
• Digital historical family documents

How Are Digital Assets Divided?

North Carolina follows equitable distribution laws when it comes to divorce. Unlike states where community property laws are applied, assets will be divided fairly. It’s critical to determine the value of certain assets and who should receive digital assets, some of which could have a high value.

To ensure you are treated fairly throughout the equitable distribution process, your divorce attorney will:

• Identify all your physical and intangible assets
• Determine which assets are considered digital marital assets
• Determine the fair market value of your digital assets
• Consult with professional appraisers to determine the value of specific types of digital assets
• Determine the value of intangible assets that hold no financial value but may still be valuable to you and your soon-to-be ex-spouse
• Determine how marital assets should be fairly distributed between spouses

Certain types of digital assets can continue to be shared despite your divorce. This might include historical records, photos of your friends and family, and certain spreadsheets or documents. You may need to work out the transfer of your digital movies, books, music, and computer software equitably. Generally, one spouse can take over streaming services, or the account will be closed.

In any case, it will be up to your North Carolina divorce attorney to ensure your spouse does not take advantage of you or take more than their fair share of your marital and digital assets as part of your divorce settlement.

Who Gets a Business?

Often, when a business has a digital presence or is run entirely online, one spouse could buy out the other, or you could continue jointly owning the company after the divorce. However, if you choose to do this, it is crucial to ensure that the terms of your agreement, including licensing and business documents, are updated to reflect these changes.

There are multiple ways in which the value of your digital marital business could be determined. These include figuring out how much an outside buyer will pay to purchase your business or considering the business’s assets and liabilities using the Book Value Method.

Who Decides How Assets Are Distributed?

You have the right to work with your spouse to determine how all your marital and digital assets are distributed when you divorce. North Carolina law simply requires equitable distribution of your marital and digital assets. This means they should be distributed fairly, not down the middle.

Your divorce attorney may attempt to work with your spouse’s divorce lawyer to draft a separation agreement that meets everyone’s needs. However, if you cannot figure out a distribution plan, you may opt to work with a mediator who can help you determine how your digital and marital assets should be divided.

If these decisions cannot be made through mediation, you should be prepared to bring your divorce to court. In this case, the judge would have the final say regarding how your marital and digital assets are distributed. For this reason, you should do everything you can to work with your spouse to agree. The judge does not know you, your spouse, your family situation, or how significantly your assets impact your life—the more control you have over the division of these assets and property, the better.

What Evidence Will Be Considered In a Division?

Many types of evidence could be used to prove that the division of your marital property or assets has not been reasonable or that your spouse is attempting to take advantage of you.

Your attorney may be able to introduce financial records, bank statements, appraisals from professionals, and other types of evidence to prove that your spouse was attempting to hide assets or take more than their fair share of your digital or marital assets.

Communications exchanges, photos and videos, statements from friends and family, and other concrete evidence prove valuable as we attempt to ensure you secure your digital and marital assets that are rightfully yours.

How Can a Divorce Attorney Help?

A divorce attorney can help to ensure you receive your fair share of digital assets. We know how digital assets should be distributed and are prepared to help protect you from vindictive ex-spouses. Attempting to identify all of your digital assets alone could prove challenging. Your divorce attorney will be sure to include all digital assets as part of your divorce settlement.

Your divorce lawyer will also be responsible for helping you determine which marital assets you should attempt to retain possession of and which you should release to your ex. We may also be able to review your digital assets to ensure you can retain possession of the ones you are entitled to according to North Carolina divorce laws.

We will also be ready to review any existing prenuptial or postnuptial agreement to ensure the details are worked out somewhat and accepted by the court when your marriage dissolves.