In today’s New York Daily News, there was an article that actress Kate Walsh and her husband are going to flip a coin to determine who gets to pick first and then they will alternate picks as they divide their personal property in divorce.

You don’t have to be a celebrity to follow the alternate selection method.  In fact it is very common when people cannot mutually agree upon a distribution of their furniture, furnishings and personal property.  Another method sometimes used is that one spouse makes two ostensibly equal lists of the personal property and the other spouse gets to choose which list they want.  There are obviously many other ways to accomplish this as well.  There are no absolute rules, other than perhaps, the custodial parent will get the children’s furniture. 

Perhaps the only other absolute rule is that judges (and attorneys) hate getting involved in this type of dispute. 

Of course, that is not to say that there cannot be disputes about valuable items like furs, jewelry, art, antiques, collections, etc.  That, however, is very different than ordinary furnishings and household items that tend to have little value once you bring them home.

So if you are divorcing and cannot agree on the distribution of the furniture, etc., you too can act like a celebrity, flip and coin and alternate picking until it is all gone.