Art As an Asset in Divorce

Divorcing spouses often have competing interests, and neither party may be in a frame of mind to compromise. If divorcing New Yorkers, for instance, are forced to choose between the Fifth Avenue apartment and the house in the Hamptons, not to mention the box at the U.S. Open or courtside seats at the Knicks, and if told they must share the Microsoft stock and the 401(k), by the time they get around to dealing with art and antiques, they may not find themselves in the mood to be practical. If the parties behave as if there needs to be a winner and a loser, there is a great risk that instead of preserving the full value of their collections, they may erode the worth of the marital estate. Like the baby in the Judgment of Solomon, the painting cannot be cut in half. Spouses may have a special attachment to certain pieces, especially when collecting is a shared activity within the marriage.