Section 7.15 Separation Agreement Clauses?Division of Personal Property

• Library: Family Law 2014 Supp Forms

Division of Personal Property

The parties’ tangible personal property shall be set aside to each party, or divided between the parties, as specifically set forth in Exhibit A, attached to and incorporated into this Agreement. The parties agree to execute all necessary documents to transfer title of the property, including bills of sale, affidavits of gift, transfers of title, etc. Property not specifically listed in Exhibit A shall be divided by agreement of the parties if this property has not been so divided at the time a decree of dissolution is entered in this cause.

Note: Counsel should assign values to larger items of personal property in larger estates and when one party has a significant amount of nonmarital property. This would be especially true if these items have not been listed previously of record in the case, such as in financial statements. Theoretically, the court will need some indicia of the value of personal property, if it is significant, to approve an agreement for its division and find it “not unconscionable.”

[ each party takes own retirement plan]

Retirement Plans; Pension Funds, etc.: Each party shall retain any interest the party has in any retirement plan, pension fund, savings plan, profit-sharing plan, 401(k) plan, or other similar plan or fund held in the primary name of each party as of the execution of this Agreement. The parties each acknowledge that they have fully disclosed these interests to the other before signing this Agreement.

Note: Especially in smaller or medium-sized estates, retirement plans are often one of
the largest marital assets. Properly handling these assets can be somewhat complex. See Chapter 15 of the Missouri Family Law (MoBar 7 ^th ed. 2012) deskbook for suggestions on valuation and the proper handling of retirement assets. Social Security benefits are not allocated by the court but rather by federal law. But the financial effect of these benefits should be considered in dividing the marital estate

[ division of retirements funds through a QDRO (qualified domestic relations order) or similar postjudgment order]

Retirement Plans; Pension Funds, etc.: Petitioner has a pension plan through [name of entity]. The current value of the fund [is stipulated by the parties to be approximately $ _____] [has been declared in the plan’s most recent statement to be $ _____]. The current value of this fund on the date the court enters a judgment and decree of dissolution shall be divided equally between the...