Value of Car - Blue Book Definitions?

[imanwhite]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? New Jersey

I am getting divorsed and I have a property settlement agreement which stipulates that I pay my ex husband for half the value of the car. My agreement doesn't stipulate if the value is based on trade-in or third party sale. Obviously the trade-in value is less. What is the normal benchmark (if any) for this. I am tired of paying my attorney so I don't want to have to go back to court for something like this.

[mistoffolees]

Originally Posted by imanwhite

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? New Jersey

I am getting divorsed and I have a property settlement agreement which stipulates that I pay my ex husband for half the value of the car. My agreement doesn't stipulate if the value is based on trade-in or third party sale. Obviously the trade-in value is less. What is the normal benchmark (if any) for this. I am tired of paying my attorney so I don't want to have to go back to court for something like this.

There is no clear definition. However, in calculating the value of items for property division purposes, the typical phrase used is 'fair market value' which is essentially the price that an item would sell for if it changed hands between an unrelated buyer and seller. That would be closer to the third party sale figure. You might also check edmunds.com for another figure for comparison.

However, what I would do is go to Carmax and get an appraisal on the car. They won't charge you but they're usually pretty good in coming up with a value.

[LdiJ]

Originally Posted by mistoffolees

There is no clear definition. However, in calculating the value of items for property division purposes, the typical phrase used is 'fair market value' which is essentially the price that an item would sell for if it changed hands between an unrelated buyer and seller. That would be closer to the third party sale figure. You might also check edmunds.com for another figure for comparison.

However, what I would do is go to Carmax and get an appraisal on the car. They won't charge you but they're usually pretty good in coming up with a value.

Also, if the car is not paid off yet, then the remaining balance of the loan gets deducted from the fair market value as well, before anything is divided.