Preparing for Divorce in Mississippi: Step 5 - Document, Photograph, and Safeguard Personal Property
Step 5 – Inventory, Photograph, and Safeguard Personal Property
The fifth step in our series on preparing for divorce in Mississippi is to document, photograph, and safeguard your personal property.
The first step is to inventory and photograph all your household possessions including furniture, art, jewelry, and valuable items. Why is this so important? First, you need to have a complete inventory of your assets for property division. Second, once you have informed your spouse of your intentions, things might start to disappear. But, if you have photographs, your position is strengthened.
Creating an inventory of your personal property is a daunting task if you have been married for any period of time, but is an absolute necessity. This inventory should contain:
• A general description of the items;
• Where is located; and
• How was it purchased (brought into the marriage, bought during the marriage, received by gift or inheritance)
If you and/or your spouse have a safe deposit box, you want to inventory those items also.
You will also want to get copies of the following documents:
• Documents showing business relationships (partnership agreements, corporate documents, or other documents showing business interests);
• Business tax returns for the past 3 years;
• Any financial statements used in a business;
• Insurance policies;
• Wills and/or trusts for you and your spouse; and
• Any prenuptial agreement.
Again, put this inventory, photographs, and documents in a safe place as discussed earlier.
Finally, you might want to safeguard personal property which has a special value to you such as your mother’s wedding ring, the watch your dad gave you, or other small valuable items special to you. This does not mean to start packing up the house as this will surely create conflict and probably escalate the divorce proceedings. Rather, you want to safeguard those few personal items that you fear might disappear once you make your divorce intentions known to your spouse.
