Are my digital assets part of the divorce?
This century has been described as the era of the nerd as popular culture is dominated by sci-fi, the supernatural and superheroes. And, with this brave new world comes the changing face of divorce as well. Specifically, your digital assets are now part of the property division process. Yes, even your World of Warcraft account and items could be split, especially if you have highly sought after items or a high-level character.
The obvious, digital money and art
Of course, we all know that if you have digital money (cryptocurrencies) and art (non-fungible tokens, or NFTs), they are part of the property division process. After all, money and art are always part of the property division process. The only difference is that these are their intangible counterparts, and you may need an expert to value them, if you have a large digital money and art portfolio.
The not-so-obvious, digital real estate and games
Does your Virginia spouse play an online game? Do they play it a lot? Perhaps it is the reason why you are divorcing? Well, that game that they are playing could be worth a lot of money. In fact, the character they built and the items that character has could have value that will need to be added to be calculated and added to the marital estate for disposition.
For example, World of Warcraft items and characters have sold for thousands, and virtual real estate in video games and the Metaverse have sold for large sums as well. Again, these are highly volatile markets, and you may need a Herndon, Virginia, expert to value these items too.
Digital income streams
Many Herndon, Virginia, residents make their money online now. And, this could be through traditional remote work or buying and selling items or services, but it could also be through new digital income, like influencing. Essentially, people sell content (funny, informative, adult, etc.) that is monetized through various means, and when you divorce, how to apportion it or factor it into spousal or child support can be complicated. This is especially true if the digital income is from adult sex work, where the spouse makes much more money than they can make in a traditional career.
These are complicated issues and why soon-to-be ex-spouses with large digital portfolios and incomes should try to work out a divorce settlement prior to court. Avoid the back-end complications by solving your issues upfront.