Former Boston Red Sox pitcher Curt Schilling’s bloody sock will go up for auction in February. Reports the Wall Street Journal.  Because of Schilling’s video game company’s bankruptcy, the bloody sock he wore in the 2004 World Series will hit the auction blocks.

 The sock previously had been on loan to the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum.  Chris Ivy, director of sports for Texas-based Heritage Auctions, says the sock is expected to fetch at least $100k.

What?  Don’t get me wrong, I appreciate sport memorabilia; A ball from the first Super bowl, a player’s jersey, a signed helmet or hat, but a bloody sock?  I understand this is a sock that is from the second game of the World Series, which the Red Sox won that year for the first time in 86 years.  But come on, it’s a sock!  And for a 100 grand, really?  I don’t get it.

You never know what will happen at an auction however.  An auction last May auctioned off the “Bill Buckner ball,” the ball which rolled through the legs of the Red Sox first baseman in the 1986 World Series. Much like the bloody sock, at the time it was expected to bring in $100,000-plus,” but it was sold to an anonymous bidder for $418,000.  Hold on, I have to get up off of the floor as I just fell out of my seat.  $400k? Oh my!

Much like Schilling having to have is stuff auctioned off because of a bankruptcy, often times during a divorce, marital property is ordered by the court to be sold in order to equitably distribute the marital assets.  If the couple is unable to agree on how to split up their assets the court gets involved.

But what if you bought that $100k bloody sock at auction before you were married and then after a few years of wedded bliss, you decide to get divorced, who gets the sock?

Well, in most states marital property subject to division is anything purchased during the marriage.  If you purchased something prior to marriage you get to keep it.  So it’s your lucky day, you get to keep the bloody sock!

What if you inherited the sock from your old uncle Cletus?  Would that be considered marital property?  In most states if you keep an inherited asset separate and don’t convert it to marital asset (putting into a joint account) it is considered separate property when you get divorced.

Even though it’s kind of weird to sell a bloody sock, like liquidating assets in bankruptcy, it is sometimes necessary to sell your assets when getting a divorce.  Keep in mind, it is always better if you and your soon to be ex can agree on who gets what when it comes to splitting things up.

If left to a judge to decide who gets the old bloody sock, the court is going to take the easy way out and order everything to be sold and then split the proceeds in a manner it sees fit.

As always, if you are considering a divorce or going through one now, seek the advice of a professional when a problem arises that you are unsure of how to proceed.