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Old Jun 20, 2010, 10:35 am
  #28  
Dr. HFH
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Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: BOS/UTH
Programs: AA LT PLT; QR GLD; Bonvoy LT TIT
Posts: 12,757
Interesting thread, I am just seeing it for the first time. As it happens, I am a divorce lawyer, and I have dealt with the issue of frequent flyer miles and affinity points in some of my cases.

Many programs allow transfers (gifts) from anyone to anyone else. Some additional programs allow transfers between divorcing spouses with a copy of a Settlement Agreement or court decree/judgment/order. A small few don't allow any transfers for any reason, regardless of what any court says (e.g., Marriott).

Valuing these points/miles is a speculative exercise at best. It's usually much better simply to divide them equally. In programs which do not allow this, I have used a trust arrangement in which the spouse who has the miles agrees to hold half of them in trust for later use by the other spouse. This arrangement has its own problems, though, as it provides an additional oppportunity for people to argue for years into the future.

Finally, although divorce laws vary from state to state, in Massachusetts the points/miles are considered assets and are cognizable by the court. Better to disclose them fully up front than to be accused of fraudulently concealing them (which may be considered to be perjury in Massachusetts) later on.
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