Whether you enjoy the opera, symphony, team sports or something else, your season tickets keep you close to the action. They also allow you to sit exactly where you want. If you are going through a divorce, though, your season tickets probably are subject to California’s property division rules.
As you probably know, California is a community property jurisdiction. As a result, you and your soon-to-be ex-spouse have equal ownership interests in your marital assets. This generally means you must divide your marital estate equally, and a judge must sign off on any settlement you negotiate.
Are your season tickets marital assets?
According to the Judicial Branch of California, community property is usually anything you acquired during your marriage or with money you earned during your marriage. Separate property, by contrast, includes the property you owned before your marriage and anything you received as a gift independently from your spouse.
Remember, if your season tickets are separate property and not marital assets, you probably do not have to divide them or their value during your divorce.
What options do you have?
While most divorcing spouses opt to sell marital assets and divide the proceeds equally, you probably have some other options.
For example, you might be able to buy out your soon-to-be ex-spouse’s ownership interest in the season tickets. You also might be able to continue to share the season tickets with your husband or wife after your divorce becomes final.
Ultimately, though, if keeping your tickets is a top priority, you may decide to give up other valuable assets in exchange for full and exclusive ownership of them.