Question:  I need a question answered, hopefully quickly. I'm thinking of divorcing my husband because I caught him looking at porn on the internet and I think he's cheating with another lady because he keeps looking at texts at night in the bathroom and when I ask what he's doing he says it's just for work. When I ask to look at his phone, he just says it's locked and he can't open it, but then he uses it the next day.

But my question is about some of our real estate holdings. Over the years we've bought property in Hilton Head Island, Dahlonega and we own several properties south of Atlanta, and we live in Alpharetta.

Since I haven't worked in years due to my depression and bad back, I'm worried that the divorce will leave me without money, unable to really function. We've been married almost 30 years and I stopped working about 15 years ago. I worked as a dancer and I was considered one of the prettiest girls at Auburn University.

But now I'm worried that he'll try to cheat me out of the property. When I asked him what it's worth he said “nothing, it isn't worth a thing.” Now, I'm not stupid, I know that it's got to be worth something, maybe some real cash.

If I get a divorce how will I know what the property is worth? What can I do?

N.Q. in Alpharetta, GA

Answer:  Real estate issues are frequently addressed in divorce cases. Sometimes the issue is valuing the marital home, other times it's about determining a value for investment, vacation or other properties. We handle these cases on a daily basis.

Sometimes, when necessary, we use the services of respected real estate agents and appraisers. It is vitally important to be able to properly value real estate, whether located here in Georgia, in another state, or even in a foreign country. We can call on a network of talented and knowledgeable appraisers, agents and brokers.

At times, the goal of an appraisal is to determine how much equity a property has. At other times, the appraisal is done so that the home's debt can be appropriately apportioned between the divorcing spouses.

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