mileage in divorce court -- I won!
Jun 10, 2010, 8:41 pm
#1
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mileage in divorce court -- I won!
In the paperwork for division of marital property, everything was split 50/50, including my 100,000 FF miles (she has no miles).
If I were on the receiving end, I would be certain that the settlement says "I get 50,000 of your miles", and I know that is the case with other people.
But in my case, while the miles are indeed on the chart, 50k each, the whole chart is in dollars, and the 50k miles we each get are valued at $1! One measly dollar for 50,000 miles!
You have to do this for some things, like a car or a house or even land, where you "cash" them in and then divide the dollars instead of chopping up a perfectly fine car or house.
So, because my miles were turned into dollars, just like my car, it means we don't split a car and we don't split my miles. We split a two dollar bill, which involves no transfer at all since we each have a dollar anyway from "cashing in" our 50k miles. End result, I get to keep ALL my miles ^ (hey, I was the one who sat in airplane seats for countless hours)
If I were on the receiving end, I would be certain that the settlement says "I get 50,000 of your miles", and I know that is the case with other people.
But in my case, while the miles are indeed on the chart, 50k each, the whole chart is in dollars, and the 50k miles we each get are valued at $1! One measly dollar for 50,000 miles!
You have to do this for some things, like a car or a house or even land, where you "cash" them in and then divide the dollars instead of chopping up a perfectly fine car or house.
So, because my miles were turned into dollars, just like my car, it means we don't split a car and we don't split my miles. We split a two dollar bill, which involves no transfer at all since we each have a dollar anyway from "cashing in" our 50k miles.
End result, I get to keep ALL my miles ^ (hey, I was the one who sat in airplane seats for countless hours)
Jun 10, 2010, 8:50 pm
#3
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Jun 10, 2010, 8:55 pm
#4
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Jun 10, 2010, 10:08 pm
#5
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Wait, so she got the car and you got the miles? I'm not sure this is a good deal unless the car is a piece of junk. I probably understood it wrong; please explain.
Any lawyer involved? How did you convince a lawyer that 50k miles are only worth 1 dollar?
Any lawyer involved? How did you convince a lawyer that 50k miles are only worth 1 dollar?
Jun 10, 2010, 10:59 pm
#6
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No, the property is divided 50/50 on a balance sheet. Add up the total value and divide in half. That's each party's share, in dollars. I subtract from that everything I posess (including 40 nickels worth of FF miles), and she subtracts whatever she posesses (e.g., furniture), and whoever goes below zero owes the other person that much money so the end is exactly 50/50, nothing left over.
Jun 11, 2010, 7:36 am
#9
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I'm not a lawyer, but it seems like your best bet (from a totally manipulative standpoint) is to a) check with your lawyer, and b) lay low on the miles, until she's taken her half of everything else, to the dollar, maybe even a little over. Then, if she asks for the miles, let her know she's already gotten her share of the assets. If she still wants miles, offer to trade the miles for something she really wants to keep and she'll be less likely to make the swap.
Frankly, I'm not sure you did yourself a service in having those miles valued the way you did. I don't know if it could've been done differently, but it makes it hard to find an equitable trade to leverage at such a low valuation.
Either way, you should probably check with your lawyer, LOL.
Frankly, I'm not sure you did yourself a service in having those miles valued the way you did. I don't know if it could've been done differently, but it makes it hard to find an equitable trade to leverage at such a low valuation.
Either way, you should probably check with your lawyer, LOL.
Jun 11, 2010, 7:53 am
#11
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I'm not a lawyer, nor have I ever been divorced, but based on the experience of others, if it's an asset that can be divided (such as money in a bank account), you must split it. If it's an asset that can't be divided (such as a house), one party must pay the other an amount equal to 50% of the value.
If you've managed to convince her lawyer that FF miles are a non-divideable asset, you have definitely won. Or, if you've convinced your soon-to-be ex-wife that she doesn't want half of a divideable asset (for example, she may not want half of your herd of cattle), you've won too. If you've convinced both of them that the entire account is only worth $2, good for you. In theory, they could assign the value of a round-trip ticket (say, $400) to every 50,000 miles in the account.
BTW - you should definitely check with your lawyer. Even if it costs money to do so.
If you've managed to convince her lawyer that FF miles are a non-divideable asset, you have definitely won. Or, if you've convinced your soon-to-be ex-wife that she doesn't want half of a divideable asset (for example, she may not want half of your herd of cattle), you've won too. If you've convinced both of them that the entire account is only worth $2, good for you. In theory, they could assign the value of a round-trip ticket (say, $400) to every 50,000 miles in the account.
BTW - you should definitely check with your lawyer. Even if it costs money to do so.
Last edited by quartermoon; Jun 11, 2010 at 7:54 am Reason: Added info
Jun 11, 2010, 10:38 am
#13
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and sometimes you get bonus miles when you transfer them -- who gets those?
Bob H
Jun 11, 2010, 11:55 am
#14
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Who gets the miles in Texas
http://www.bbthompsonlaw.com/legalno...e-flyer-miles/
Not that it really helps much at all.
http://www.bbthompsonlaw.com/legalno...e-flyer-miles/
Not that it really helps much at all.
Jun 11, 2010, 12:54 pm
#15
Join Date: May 2010
Posts: 688
In the paperwork for division of marital property, everything was split 50/50, including my 100,000 FF miles (she has no miles).
If I were on the receiving end, I would be certain that the settlement says "I get 50,000 of your miles", and I know that is the case with other people.
But in my case, while the miles are indeed on the chart, 50k each, the whole chart is in dollars, and the 50k miles we each get are valued at $1! One measly dollar for 50,000 miles!
You have to do this for some things, like a car or a house or even land, where you "cash" them in and then divide the dollars instead of chopping up a perfectly fine car or house.
So, because my miles were turned into dollars, just like my car, it means we don't split a car and we don't split my miles. We split a two dollar bill, which involves no transfer at all since we each have a dollar anyway from "cashing in" our 50k miles. End result, I get to keep ALL my miles ^ (hey, I was the one who sat in airplane seats for countless hours)
If I were on the receiving end, I would be certain that the settlement says "I get 50,000 of your miles", and I know that is the case with other people.
But in my case, while the miles are indeed on the chart, 50k each, the whole chart is in dollars, and the 50k miles we each get are valued at $1! One measly dollar for 50,000 miles!
You have to do this for some things, like a car or a house or even land, where you "cash" them in and then divide the dollars instead of chopping up a perfectly fine car or house.
So, because my miles were turned into dollars, just like my car, it means we don't split a car and we don't split my miles. We split a two dollar bill, which involves no transfer at all since we each have a dollar anyway from "cashing in" our 50k miles.
End result, I get to keep ALL my miles ^ (hey, I was the one who sat in airplane seats for countless hours)