Valuing Assets

North Carolina Divorce Law Divorce and Separation Answers
1

Hi, my ex and I are trying to work out our equitable distribution. Here are our major assets.

60k in Home Equity
40K in her IRA’s
76K in My 401k
20K in My IRA’s

I’d like to give her the home equity so she can stay in the house. In exchange, I would take a larger share of the retirement. Are there any standard formulas to evaluate Home Equity vs 401k vs IRA?

It costs money to sell a home. So I don’t think 60k in home equity is really worth 60k. I feel IRA’s are fairly equal to their face value because they have already been taxed, but you cant get them until 65. 401k’s are pretax, and you cant reasonably get them until 65. Are there any factors that can be applied to these amounts to get them to be ‘equal’?

My thought is maybe home equity would be equal to Equity - 5% of home value. For example 60k in equity- (300k value * 5% = 15000) 45,000.

IRA would be worth 100% of face value.

401k would be work 80% of face value to factor in taxes you pay upon withdrawal.

Does this make sense?

2

There are no set formulas to valuate home equity vs. 401(k) accounts vs. IRA accounts.

To make these amounts more “equal” as you have implied, you can deduct from the 401(k) or other pre-tax accounts the tax that will have to be paid when disbursements from these accounts begin, which is what you suggested.

No amounts are deducted from equity in a home if it will not be sold pursuant to an equitable distribution court order or separation agreement.