If you and your spouse have decided to vacate large rental apartment during a messy divorce, then you will need to find somewhere to store your antique furniture. Even if you plan on selling it, you don't want to rush the process; you want to make sure you find a good auctioneer or at least get a good price in a private sale. So, here is what you need to do to transport and store the furniture until you are ready to deal with it.

Locate A Self Storage Facility

You never want to try and store the furniture with a friend of one of yours. That will bring them into the situation and also create a legal issue should anything be broken. A friend is always more friendly with one spouse, and the other person may think that the friend is holding the antique furniture hostage or possibly withholding it from them.

What you should do is decide upon a self-storage facility. Both of you can have access to the facility, so there is no issue with the furniture being withheld from one of the parties. You should choose a facility that has security. This is an important point. You want there to be a record of who accesses the self storage unit. That way, one party cannot claim that the other stole an item. So, find a self-storage facility that has a security guard with a sign in sheet. It's also good to choose a facility with security cameras in case the spouse claims their signature was forged. Your lawyer can request the footage from the location and see who accessed the unit.

Decide Upon Transport

Do not try and transport the items on your own. If you break an item, it can become a huge issue. You don't need yet another problem if you are involved in a messy divorce. So, choose a bonded transport and moving company that will take your items, transport them to the storage facility, and then bring them into the units.

Document Items With Photographs Or Video

Take photos of all of the items before they are loaded up for transport. This is important to make sure that they are not damaged in transit. It's also a great way to discuss the items during arbitration. It's easy for your lawyer to pull out the photos and discuss the items. since a visual aid is better than a bland spreadsheet listing of furniture would be.