Now that you have decided to divorce your spouse, you might wonder what happens to your season tickets. The answer might depend on whether your tickets are marital or separate property.
Every state has its own laws when it comes to property division in divorce. The first step is to understand the law as it applies in Maryland.
Equitable distribution
Like most other states, Maryland is an equitable distribution jurisdiction. According to state law, divorcing spouses must divide their marital wealth equitably and fairly. This means you and your spouse should wind up with a fair percentage of everything you own. Whether your tickets must be divided may depend on when you acquired them.
Marital versus separate property
Maryland’s property division scheme only applies to marital property, which is usually anything you and your spouse acquire during your marriage. Therefore, you can probably keep any separate property that belongs exclusively to you. If you had your season tickets before your marriage or received them as a gift independently from your spouse, you may be able to keep them.
Your options
If your season tickets are marital property, though, you are going to have to address their future during your divorce. Luckily, you probably have some options. For example, you might be able to sell the tickets and give your spouse some of the proceeds.
Ultimately, however, if you do not want to part with the tickets and they fall under marital property, you may need to explore other options. You might be able to buy out your spouse’s ownership interest or come up with a joint-usage arrangement.