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California is a community property state. Under the property division laws of the state, any property acquired during the marriage is presumed to be owned by both parties equally. During a divorce, the community property then must be divided. Most people think of the physical property they must divide, such as the family home, vehicle, and other property.
However, the world is increasingly becoming a digital place and many people have digital assets that are also subject to division during divorce.
Transferring Digital Assets
As with any other term of a divorce, couples can agree to the division of digital assets, or a judge will make the final decision. In either case, once it has been determined how digital assets will be divided, they must be transferred. Transferring digital assets is often much more challenging than transferring physical assets.
Many non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and cryptocurrencies use an encrypted digital wallet for storage. There are multiple websites that offer these digital wallets, and every wallet may store different assets. In many cases, all digital assets are not stored in a single digital wallet. One party may have to open multiple different digital wallets across many different websites, depending on the assets that must be transferred.
To make things more complex, online privacy laws must be complied with, and they are constantly changing. When the transfer of assets requires lawfully bypassing security features or sharing passwords, there are often other steps to take to make sure that neither party is breaking federal or state privacy laws.
Valuing Digital Assets
Cryptocurrencies are very volatile, and they operate similarly to the stock market. One day, a cryptocurrency can skyrocket in value, only for it to dramatically drop the next day. This makes determining an accurate value for cryptocurrencies very challenging. To accurately value your cryptocurrencies, it is important to work with a Campbell property division lawyer who has experience with appraising digital assets.
Accurately determining the value of NFTs may seem more straightforward, but there has been an increasing amount of fraud surrounding these digital assets in recent years. Sometimes, sellers will purchase their own NFT at an inflated value in an effort to make it seem as though the asset has a greater value than it actually does. A lawyer can also reach out to a forensic accountant who can accurately value the NFT at a fair market price, and review its transaction history.
Our Property Division Lawyers in Campbell Can Help with Your Digital Assets
Identifying and accurately valuing any type of asset during divorce is hard, but digital assets present unique challenges. At Hepner & Pagan, LLP, our Campbell property division lawyers can help you overcome them so you obtain the full and fair settlement you are entitled to. Call us now at 408-688-9153 or reach out to us online to schedule a consultation with one of our experienced attorneys and to learn more about how we can help.
