People in Florida who are getting a divorce may need to divide property such as a home or a bank account. However, one person in a couple might also own assets in the form of bitcoins.
Bitcoins used to be little known and worth little as well. However, now that the currency is more valuable, it may start to become an issue in some divorce cases. In fact, a bitcoin account might have contributed to the issues that led to the divorce because building substantial assets in the currency can take a great deal of time.
There are a number of difficulties that might be associated with splitting a bitcoin account. One is that this might be an easy asset to conceal. Another is that it might be difficult to assess the value of the bitcoins or how to split an account. For example, there might be a choice between assessing their value based on current market price or on their original purchase price. A spouse might also have a choice between a lump sum and a percentage of profit over a certain period of time.
Whether or not a couple must negotiate a new form of currency such as bitcoins, these same issues might arise in dividing other property as well. For example, a person may hide other types of assets in a variety of ways ranging from giving money to a relative or friend to hiding assets in offshore accounts or shell companies or failing to report income such as bonuses. A person who feels a spouse might be concealing assets may want to talk to an attorney. In cases such as these, negotiations about property division may not be possible, and the couple may have to enter litigation in order to have a judge resolve the issues.
