Protecting What Belongs to You
Divorce can be incredibly stressful and challenging, especially when dividing up assets. One of the most complex assets to divide is intellectual property — such as patents, copyrights, trademarks, or royalties — which may have been acquired during a marriage. It's important to understand how these types of assets are divided to ensure you receive your fair share of the marital estate. This blog will discuss how dividing intellectual property works in divorce and provide tips on what steps you should take if it applies to your situation.
Determining Assets to Divide
The first step to dividing intellectual property in a divorce is to accurately determine what assets should be included in the marital estate. This will include any copyrights, patents, trademarks, or royalties that were acquired during the marriage. If your spouse isn't willing to cooperate with you in dividing these assets, you may need to hire an attorney to help you protect your rights.
Determining How Assets Will Be Divided
Once the assets have been identified, it's important to consider how these assets will be divided in the divorce. For example, suppose a spouse owned a patent before marriage and received royalties from it during the marriage. In that case, those royalties may be considered separate property and not part of the marital estate. However, if the patent was acquired during the marriage, it may be considered a marital asset and divided between spouses.
Impacting Other Parts of Property Division
Considering how dividing intellectual property will affect other aspects of your divorce agreement is essential. For example, dividing intellectual property could impact spousal support payments or the division of other assets, such as real estate or retirement accounts.
Working With an Attorney for Divorce
In some cases, dividing intellectual property can be a complicated process due to the complexities of the law and the need for expert witnesses to testify about their value. To ensure a fair division of assets in your divorce, hiring an experienced family law attorney who understands how dividing intellectual property works is best.
If you need help with divorce regardless of complexity, the team at Pacific Cascade Legal is here to help you prepare for your better life. Learn more about how we can help or schedule a consultation by calling (888) 981-9511 or visiting our website.
Lewis Irwin Landerholm
Founding Partner
Lewis Landerholm realized the importance of family and justice from a very young age. With grandparents in the legal field, a mother in education and a father who was a domestic violence counselor, Lewis was raised by a family dedicated to helping people. His role models taught Lewis that the world is a complicated place where education and a helping hand could make all the difference.
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