Although divorce can trigger a handful of negative emotions — fighting about small divorce cases probably isn’t worth it. At times each side to a divorce gets stuck on the concept of being “wronged” or possibly “beating their ex.”
This “fight and win” mentality can cause either side to bleed valuable time and money fighting over issues of little value.
Here are some examples of divorce issues that probably aren’t worth fighting over.
UNSUED VACATION AND SICK TIME
Technically unused vacation and sick time are community property. Community property basically is every asset built during a marriage other than:
- Gifts that were exclusively given to one spouse;
- Inheritances that one spouse receives;
- The couple reached a written agreement (i.e. prenuptial, etc.) classifying an asset as separate asset/debt;
- Asset/debts received after a divorce or legal separation; or
- The court rules the asset/debt is separate property.
Is unused vacation and sick time community property? Yes. Is it worth your time, stress, and money to fight over unused vacation and sick time? Probably not.
The New Mexico divorce case that determined unused vacation and sick time was community property involved vacation and sick time totaling 1,108.7 hours. These hours had a value of $26,608.80. In other words, Arnold v. Arnold was an outlier that involved an extraordinary number of vacation/sick hours and overall value.
In Arnold, it made financial sense to argue over $26,608 in accrued value. But Arnold was the exception rather than the rule.
Can you make vacation and sick time an issue in your case? Yes. You can make almost anything in divorce an issue. The important question is – does the cost of creating the issue outweigh the benefit? Unless your case involves a great deal of vacation/sick time, likely the cost of fighting over the issue outweighs the benefit.
SMALL PERSONAL ITEMS IN DIVORCE ARE COMMUNITY PROPERTY
Small, personal items that were purchased during a marriage with the couple’s earnings are usually community property. Small personal items are essentially anything smaller than a car – or an item that you could purchase at a garage sell.
Small personal items can be divided in divorce. NM judges usually hate dealing with personal items. If your divorce goes to trial, your judge will likely handle personal items as follows:
- Allow each side to take turns picking one item until all items are gone; or
- Take a recess and allow you to resolve the issue outside of court.
Virtually no judge will spend trial time on personal items. Your judge will want you to figure out how personal items will be divided.
Usually you’ll waste more time, energy and attorney fees fighting over personal items than the items are worth. You may find yourself fighting “to beat your ex” more than you’re fighting over an item of value. How much is your couch, television, dresser, or other personal item worth?
Even Goodwill often refuses to accept donations such as televisions and other electronics. This begs the question — how much is your personal item actually worth?
You will likely have the following issues regarding small items:
- Difficult pinning down personal items;
- Judges likely will not spend more than a moment or two on personal items;
- Attorney fees and costs usually outweigh the actual value of personal items; and
- Arguing over personal items will quickly sour the judge to your case.
Personal property is best addressed by:
- Resolving the issue before the separation; or
- Brining a list of important items to settlement facilitation.
DO YOU WANT TO SETTLE YOUR DIVORCE – OR END UP IN COURT?
Small, personal items and sick/vacation time are two issues that commonly are not addressed because adding too many issues to the pot can derail a case. A party that makes every conceivable issue a fight runs the risk of the case falling off the tracks and crashing into court.
There comes a point when you will spend more on lawyers than the issue is worth. There’s also a chance that battling on every single issue will lead to a breakdown in the settlement process that results in litigation.
Here are some questions to ask yourself when considering the cost/benefit of fighting over every issue:
- How long will it take you to get a divorce trial?
- Do you want to prolong your divorce for a year or more?
- How will stretching out your divorce impact your quality of life and mental health?
As I am writing these words, it probably will take you one year or more to get a divorce trial in Albuquerque or Rio Rancho. Maybe less. Maybe more. It is commonly taking several months to get quick, non-emergencies hearings. The necessary half-day, or multiple-day divorce trial likely will take a year or longer to take place.
How much will that year cost you in terms of your mental health and happiness? I’ve handled divorce trials for over a decade and can testify that there are real costs to your emotional wellbeing by stretching out a divorce.
Try ripping off a Band-Aid for over a year and let me know how much fun you had that year.
A divorce weighing you down has a real-world impact on not only your quality of life – but also the people that love you.
In the end, fighting about small divorce issues probably isn’t wroth it.
(505) SANCHEZ HELPS YOU UNDERSTAND WHEN FIGHTING ABOUT SMALL DIVORCE PROBLEMS PROBABLY ISN’T WORTH IT
Are you facing a divorce and researching community property laws in New Mexico? You’ve found the right attorney to answer your questions. Matthew Legan Sanchez has been handling divorce trials in New Mexico for over a decade. Sanchez has the trial experience to help you understand that fighting about small divorce problems probably isn’t worth it. Call (505) SANCHEZ to speak with an experienced and trusted trial attorney.
Divorce and community property lawyer in New Mexico
