What Happens to Stock Options and RSUs When You Divorce in Florida?

Unvested restricted stock units sitting quietly in an app you barely check are about as modern a marital asset as they come. Once a marriage ends, that app suddenly becomes very interesting to a divorce court. So what actually happens to equity compensation when a Florida divorce meets a company’s vesting schedule?

Why Equity Doesn’t Fit Neatly Into a Box

Florida divides marital assets under an equitable distribution model, governed by Florida Statute Section 61.075, generally starting from the presumption that marital property should be split fairly, though not necessarily equally. That framework works cleanly for a bank account. Stock options and restricted stock units complicate things, since this compensation is often granted at one point in time but doesn’t fully belong to the employee until a later vesting date. Some of that value may reflect work already done during the marriage. Some may reflect work still to come after it ends. Sorting out which is which is where these cases get complicated.

The Timing Question That Decides Everything

A stock option gives the right to buy company shares at a set price down the road. An RSU is a promise that actual shares will be delivered once certain conditions, usually continued employment, are met. Both typically vest gradually rather than all at once. Florida courts generally look at whether a grant was intended to reward past performance, which supports marital classification, or to incentivize future performance, which supports treating it as separate property. Because many grants blend both purposes, this becomes a genuinely fact specific inquiry rather than a simple yes or no answer.

How Courts Divide the Value

Once equity is found to be at least partially marital, Florida courts often apply a time based ratio, comparing how much of the vesting period occurred during the marriage against the total vesting period, then applying that percentage to the grant. A few practical points come up repeatedly:

• Vested shares that have not yet been sold are generally easier to value than unvested grants
• Unvested grants carry real uncertainty, since the employee spouse could leave the company or the stock could decline in value before vesting completes
• Some settlements divide the shares directly once vested, while others use a deferred distribution approach, where the non-employee spouse receives a payment when each tranche actually vests

Neither approach is automatically better. The right structure depends on the specific equity plan, the company’s volatility, and how much ongoing entanglement both spouses are comfortable with after the divorce.

Treating a grant of unvested RSUs like a checking account is a fast way to either overvalue or undervalue what’s actually on the table. Our Boca Raton high net worth divorce attorneys at Schwartz | White work with forensic accountants to properly value and divide equity compensation in Florida divorces. Contact Schwartz | White to schedule a consultation about what your equity package means for your case.

Source:

leg.state.fl.us/Statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&URL=0000-0099/0061/Sections/0061.075.html