Know Your Legal Rights is a bi-monthly column distributed by the State Bar of Wisconsin. It is written by members of the State Bar of Wisconsin’s Lawyer Referral and Information Service (LRIS), which connects Wisconsin residents with lawyers throughout the state. To find an attorney in your area, visit wislaw.org.
Dividing up belongings during a divorce can be tough. In today’s world, it’s not just about who gets the house or the cars; online accounts and digital assets matter too. So, how does splitting-up digital assets work – especially in Wisconsin, where the law says that that everything a couple owns should be shared equally?
Wisconsin is a marital or community property state, meaning everything acquired prior to or during marriage should be divided equally unless it’s a gift or inheritance. Each spouse is required to disclose all their assets and their values during the divorce. Digital assets are included in this process.
Crypto and Digital Currency
Digital currency can be complicated to find and value in the divorce process, especially if one person doesn’t want the other to know about it. There are certain clues that a spouse should look for, like apps on their phone or charges on their bank statements.
Apps such as Binance or Coinbase are common platforms where people trade cryptocurrency. Once purchased, cryptocurrency usually resides in a digital wallet which is protected by a password or “key” used to transfer and receive funds.
Income from cryptocurrency is taxable income, much like gains from other assets, so checking tax returns for possible cryptocurrency gains can provide clues as well.
Valuing cryptocurrency is particularly challenging because its value fluctuates. However, there are ways to estimate its worth, like using online calculators. Splitting it equally simplifies the process because you don’t need to pinpoint the exact value. The spouse receiving cryptocurrency should open his or her own digital wallet in advance of any transfer to accept their half of the cryptocurrency.
Social Media, Online Subscriptions, and Sentimental Digital Media
Digital media like photos, videos, or music libraries can be emotionally valuable but challenging to divide.
Often, couples share lots of digital media such as photos, videos, audio files, music libraries, streaming apps, or even shared social media or email accounts.
If both spouses use the same account, like Spotify, it’s not easy to split it. You might have to agree on how to share it or determine its value and let one party keep the account and compensate the other person with something else.
Placing a value on digital media can be completely subjective and dependent on such things as how much you spend to acquire the media, how much you paid for your subscription, how much it would cost to re-purchase or replace the digital media, or even sentimental value and attachment.
In the case of photos, videos, and audio files, the easiest way to divide them is not to divide them at all. Instead, the files can be copied electronically onto a thumb drive which the other party can use to download shared content.
If spouses use the same login credentials for a shared account, it may be very difficult for the account to be divided. The parties and their attorneys should try to work out a situation where music and playlists can be shared from one account to a new account or where each party gets to keep a digital asset of equal value – for example, maybe one party gets the Spotify account and the other party gets the iTunes account.
Ultimately, dividing digital assets during a divorce can be tough. However, with creativity and the right guidance, it’s possible to find a fair solution that benefits both parties.
Grace Tressler is an associate attorney focusing on family law at Karp & Iancu, S.C. where she routinely represents clients in the division of digital assets and other property incidental to divorce.
To find an attorney near you, visit wislaw.org.
