Compensation can weigh heavily in a divorce

Divorces can be tricky to navigate, especially when it comes to dividing up assets. If there are no assets to divide, a divorce can be pretty straightforward on a financial level. If there are assets to divide, how they are split up depends on what types of assets they are.

One area that can cause a problem is a situation where one of the spouses is expecting an upcoming bonus from their employer. That spouse may have to share that bonus with their soon-to-be ex-partner depending on the timing of the bonus. Some people are paid a bonus upfront when they sign on with a company. Some of those companies have clawback provisions in their employment contracts stating that if the employee were to leave the company early or perform below expectations, the company could “claw back” that bonus. For people going through a divorce, they may fight to have that bonus excluded from the marital property since it could potentially be clawed back.

For people who work on commission and are about to receive bonuses, they may wish to file for and close on their divorces as soon as possible so that they don’t have to share the upcoming bonus with their spouses. Whether that bonus can be included as marital property will be dependent on what happens in negotiations, but many people decide to try anyway.

There are also issues that arise when it comes to moving to a new job while a divorce is in progress. Sometimes, that new job will give an employee options and benefits that match that employee’s last job. Whether or not that new income and assets are included in a divorce will be worked out with lawyers.

Going through a divorce can be very tricky, especially when there are issues of compensation and assets involved. Working with an attorney who has experience in this type of asset distribution might make all the difference.