My husband is a teacher. Before we got married, he started writing a series of short stories. Over time, he stopped tutoring during the summers and spent his time writing. In fact, he spent so much time writing during the summers we had to hire child-care providers because he was not available to watch our kids. I always supported his creativity and encouraged his writing. I read drafts and made suggestions for edits, which he sometimes used to expand on his stories.
He turned his short stories into a novel and earned a lot of money. Now we are getting divorced. He started writing a new book last summer but stopped when we decided to divorce. He told me he wouldn’t have to share the proceeds with me if he wrote it after the divorce.
The book is going to be the second in a series. I think because he created the characters during the marriage, it should be an asset. He says it can’t be valued because it isn’t done and hasn’t sold and therefore it can’t be divided. Is he right?
He is right that it can’t be valued and divided right now. However, he is wrong about it not being divisible ever. There are several cases in Massachusetts that address contractual rights to future royalty payments. While you cannot assign a value right now, you can receive a percentage interest in his future payments, which he would have to pay out to you “if and when received.” He bears no risk that the book doesn’t sell — and you are not giving up a potential valuable asset.
Future royalties can either be treated as an asset subject to division or as income for purposes of support. If you want to go the asset division route, you should ask that all future works which were developed or conceived of during the marriage be considered an asset of the marriage subject to property division. This might apply to the characters he created for his series. But realize, the further out you get from the date of divorce, the lower your percentage of ownership would be. There is a mathematical formula that would be applied reflecting the number of years of the marriage and length of time from the date of divorce to the date the works are monetized.
If you reach an agreement on the division of future royalties, consult with a trusts lawyer about setting up a Royalty Trust to manage future payouts most efficiently.
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Ex can tap into future book royalties - Boston Herald
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