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Michigan is a great state for camping and enjoying the outdoors (except January - March) so many people here own recreational vehicles or RV's.  Unfortunately, if a married couple owns an RV and has to get divorced, the question can become what do we do with the RV?  This blog is written to generally address this issue, if you have specific questions regarding your life, please do not hesitate to click on this link or call us at (248) 608-4123 to schedule a consultation.

Who Keeps The RV In A Divorce In Michigan?

Michigan is a state where all the marital property is divided roughly equally.  So first one should consider whether one spouse owned the vehicle outright before the marriage or whether the RV was purchased or paid off during the marriage.  If it was purchased during the marriage or any loans associated with the RV were paid-off during the marriage, then it is most likely subject to an equitable division.

However, an RV cannot really be divided in half, so typically it is awarded to one person or the parties must sell the RV.  If it is awarded to one party, then we determine the "blue book" value and subtract the loan to determine the value.  Once the value is determined the spouse to whom it is awarded owes the other spouse one-half of that value in other property or cash assets.  If the parties sell the RV then they just equally divide the proceeds.

Unfortunately, in many cases the loan associated with the RV exceeds the value of the RV.  In that case, if one of the parties is willing to take the vehicle, they are typically awarded the vehicle but they must remain responsible for the loan associated with the RV.  In that case, the spouse to whom it is awarded does not owe anything to the other spouse and conversely the other spouse does not owe the owner spouse any money for the deficit between the value and loan. 

If neither party is willing to keep the RV and take on the loan, then the parties must typically share the cost of the monthly payment until they are able to sell the RV.  If they sell the RV for less than what is owed, then typically they will each have to pay half of the deficit to the lender at the time of the sale in order to convey clear title to the purchaser.  In cases where an RV is involved that is "under water" or even where one spouse is assuming the loan associated with it, careful drafting of the documents is required in order to protect each spouse and their credit in the event of a default on payment or a sale that requires the parties to pay additional funds to the lender at the time of the sale.

If you are facing a potential divorce or separation and have specific questions, contact us to schedule a consultation by calling (248) 608-4123 or clicking on this link.