For anyone in Pennsylvania who either isn’t married or has never been through a divorce, fighting over something like air miles may seem trivial and petty. However, everything in a divorce has a monetary value — even things like air miles. The question is what each party is willing to give up or pay for the asset in question.
Everyone has those objects that they may not think has any monetary value. Whether it’s a picture, a knick knack or even air miles, when it comes to getting a divorce, it will end up having some sort of monetary value. Sometimes, that object is used a leverage by one spouse over the other in order to get something of value that person wants.
In some cases, it really doesn’t even matter what the object is, but if one party finds it valuable in some way, even emotionally, the other party will suddenly take an interest in it. When this happens, there is usually something else that party really wants and is willing to trade for it. One way to combat that is to not be emotional when it comes to asset division. Try assigning a monetary value to everything and then decide what is worth the fight.
Sometimes, it is better to be willing to let go of an asset so as not to lose something that will be more valuable in the long run. Most people in Pennsylvania would agree that giving away half of a retirement account for air miles or a knick knack doesn’t make much sense. Sometimes, when going through a divorce, it becomes necessary to put feelings aside in order to get down to business.
Source: forbes.com, “Divorce: Who Gets The Air Miles?” Jeff Landers, June 26, 2013
