Divorce is often more complex for high-asset families. The more money and property that you and your spouse accumulated during your marriage, the more complicated it will be for the two of you split up all of that property.

Not only is there more for a couple to fight over, but the assets themselves often become more complicated and harder to accurately value or evenly split. The different kinds of assets can also make people feel confused about what they have a right to claim in the divorce.

If your spouse is an executive whose workplace benefits include deferred compensation, can you claim any of that in a Kentucky divorce?

What matters most about deferred compensation is when someone earned it

The law for property division in Kentucky focuses on equitable or fair distribution of marital assets. That means that your house, your vehicles and any other property you bought with income earned during your marriage will have to get split up in the divorce. It also means that less direct forms of work-based compensation, like pensions, are vulnerable to division.

Deferred compensation could involve potential future cash payments or even stock given to executives who stay with the company for a certain amount of time or reach certain performance goals. While it can be difficult to determine the value of deferred compensation, the spouse who did not earn that deferred compensation can still ask for their share of the compensation earned during the marriage.

Getting help with inventorying your assets and exploring your property rights can make it easier for you to protect yourself in a high-asset divorce.