The Divorce Assets Most People Forget About
By Donna Cates
Crypto, Frequent-Flyer Miles, Rewards Points, Digital Accounts and Other Assets That May Have Real Value in Divorce
Most people who are going through a divorce know to ask about the house, retirement accounts, investments, and bank accounts.
But a whole category of property often gets missed because it doesn't look like a traditional asset.
And some of it can have real value.
Think about:
Cryptocurrency
Bitcoin, Ethereum, stablecoins, crypto held on exchanges such as Coinbase or Kraken, or assets stored in digital wallets.
Frequent-flyer miles and travel rewards
Delta SkyMiles, American AAdvantage miles, Southwest Rapid Rewards, hotel points through Marriott or Hilton, and travel credits sitting in airline accounts.
Credit-card rewards
Cash-back balances, American Express Membership Rewards, Chase Ultimate Rewards, Capital One miles and similar programs.
Digital wallets and payment accounts
PayPal, Venmo, Cash App, Apple Cash and other accounts that may actually hold a balance.
Online businesses and digital income streams
Etsy stores, Amazon seller accounts, Shopify businesses, monetized YouTube channels, websites, domains, online courses and other digital businesses that may produce income or have value.
Subscriptions and memberships
Amazon Prime, streaming services, software subscriptions, cloud-storage plans and other recurring accounts that may need to be separated or reassigned.
Cloud storage and digital files
Google Drive, Dropbox, iCloud and shared photo libraries that may contain family photos, business records, tax documents or other important information.
Smart-home and connected accounts
Security cameras, Ring doorbells, smart thermostats, garage-door systems, home automation accounts and shared passwords.
Some of these may be divisible marital assets. Some may not be transferable under the provider's rules. Others may have little financial value but still create a very real privacy, access or control issue after divorce.
That is why I encourage women to ask three questions:
1. Does this have financial or practical value?
2. Who currently owns or controls it?
3. What needs to happen at divorce so there is no question about ownership, access or responsibility later?
And here is the piece that often gets missed:
Identifying the asset is not enough. The agreement needs to say what happens to it.
For example, rather than simply writing that one spouse receives the "airline miles," an attorney might consider language along these lines:
Sample language for discussion with your attorney:
“Each party shall retain as his or her sole property the digital accounts, rewards programs, loyalty points, cryptocurrency, digital wallets and other digital assets specifically awarded to that party under this Agreement. To the extent an account or asset is transferable, the parties shall cooperate in completing any documentation or action necessary to transfer ownership within ___ days of entry of the Final Judgment. If an asset cannot be transferred under the provider's rules, the parties shall cooperate in redeeming, dividing or otherwise allocating the value or benefit of the asset as specifically provided herein.”
For shared digital access, you may also want the agreement to address separation of accounts:
“Within ___ days, each party shall change the passwords and security credentials for accounts awarded to that party and shall remove the other party as an authorized user, administrator or person with access, except where continued access is specifically required by this Agreement.”
And for an asset with a known value, specificity matters:
“The Wife shall receive ______ frequent-flyer miles held in the ______ account ending in ____.”
“The Husband shall receive the cryptocurrency held in the ______ wallet/account, valued as of ______, subject to any agreed equalization payment.”
“The parties shall divide the ______ rewards balance as follows: ___% to Wife and ___% to Husband.”
The divorce attorney should always draft or approve the exact wording based on the asset involved, state law, and the provider's transfer rules.
But from the financial side, the message is simple:
If it has value, access, control, or future benefit attached to it, do not assume it is too small, too unusual, or too “digital” to address in your divorce.
Forgotten assets are often the ones that become aggravating problems six months later.
Save this and add “digital assets and rewards” to your divorce financial inventory.