Got Bitcoin? Or Ethereum?
Do you know anything about the explosively expanding company Coinbase and what it does? How about Robinhood or Blockify?
A recent family law-linked article by the online publication Mediate spotlights those so-called “cryptocurrencies” and “relatively new types of investment vehicles.”
Notably, it does so from the perspective of divorce and dissolution-tied asset division.
Here’s why: Once relegated to the near realm of science fiction and forums decidedly out of the mainstream, cryptocurrencies – what they are, what they do, their risk/reward basics and so forth – are now firmly out of the closet. Notwithstanding their baseline complexities and continuing ability to engender passionate debate and even controversy, those alternatives to cash and the gold standard are clearly here to stay.
And their traction and increasing popularity has clear relevance in the family law realm, especially regarding potential cryptocurrency placement in a fair division of divorce-related marital assets.
This much can be said: Although Bitcoin and other crypto assets were seldom mentioned in divorce discussions even a few short years ago, that will certainly not be the case going into the future. The Mediate piece underscores that, “Analyzing cryptocurrency holdings in a marital estate is going to become more and more common moving forward.”
Much more needs to be learned in the interim, though, especially given that the cryptocurrency world is continuously growing, evolving and garnering acceptance as the provider of a new global form of assets.
Among other things, valuation will be key in any marital distribution of assets. Tax consequences can easily loom large in a given case. Other things will undoubtedly come up.
Ultimately, though, cryptocurrencies – while being readily differentiated from other holdings – are still just an asset to be identified, valued and equitably divided in a divorce. A proven legal team well versed in complex property division routinely works seamlessly with other professionals when promoting a client’s best interest during the divorce process.
That focus never varies, regardless of the divisible marital assets involved.
