Tag: Property Division

Dissipation: Wasting Money in Divorce

Mary J. Blige, has filed for divorce from her estranged husband, Martin “Kendu” Isaacs. In court filings, there are allegations that he spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on his girlfriends. How does this impact the property division?

Mary has won nine Grammy Awards, four American Music Awards, and has recorded eight multi-platinum albums. She is the only artist with Grammy Award wins in R&B, Rap, Gospel, and Pop. However, she is now concerned about dirty tricks in divorce.

Dirty Tricks

Some couples divorce in a business-like, and even a friendly way. They recognize that coming to a fair end as quickly as possible allows them to get on with their lives.

However, there is no shortage of dirty tricks in divorce. One of the most common is to “dissipate,” or intentionally squander money so a spouse can’t get a fair share of it in the divorce.

Mary and her husband Martin married back in 2003. The divorce cited irreconcilable differences as the reason for the split. The couple has no children together. Mary is purportedly asking the judge to deny Martin’s ability to get spousal support.

According to TMZ, in recent filings, Martin is accused of having dissipated $420,000 of the parties’ marital funds. Martin was Mary’s manager. So, it could be that much of the money allegedly spent on himself or a girlfriend can be chalked it up as “travel charges.” However, Mary alleges the $420,000 in expenses were not business-related.

Property Division

In Florida divorces, courts distribute the marital assets and liabilities between the parties with the premise that the distribution should be equal, unless there is a justification for an unequal distribution. I’ve written about various aspects of property division before.

Some of the factors to justify an unequal distribution of the property include things like the financial situation the parties. The length of the marriage, whether someone has interrupted their career or an educational opportunity, or how much one spouse contributed to the other’s career or education.

Dissipation and Waste

One of the relevant factors courts look to is whether one of the parties intentionally dissipated, wasted, depleted, or destroyed any of the marital assets after the filing of the petition or within 2 years prior to the filing of the petition.

Spouses could dissipate assets by spending money on girlfriends, as Mary alleges. Other instances of waste have included gambling losses, and drug usage. Some people would rather lose the money outright than split it with their spouses.

Where this kind of marital misconduct results in a depletion or dissipation of marital assets, it can serve as a basis for unequal division of marital property. Alternatively, the misconduct can also be assigned to the spending spouse as part of that spouse’s equitable distribution.

Martin is purportedly asking for more than $110,000 per month in spousal support, which Mary objects to. Mary is quoted as saying: “I am not responsible for supporting [Martin’s] parents and his children from another relationship which he lists as ongoing monthly expenses.”

The TMZ article is here.

 

Property Division & Getting Your Name Off Title

Long after your divorce’s property division, you remember that your name is still on the deed and mortgage to your old home. It may be important to remove your name from title in order to buy a new home or get credit.

Getting A Court Order

One way to remove your name from title is to go back to the family law judge, and ask for an order requiring that your name be removed from the deed and mortgage. However, to remove your name from title, your ex-spouse will have to refinance the property.

A controlling issue in these types of cases is whether your spouse has the ability to refinance. If your spouse has bad credit, is unemployed, or gets turned down for a loan, it will be hard to force your ex to do something that can’t be done.

However, if your ex-spouse has the ability to remove your name off the mortgage, but has never bothered to, a court order could work. However, you whenever you file for an order in court, you are going to incur attorney’s fees and costs, and that could get expensive.

I’ve written about real estate and property divisions before. Unless your marital settlement agreement or final divorce decree is clear, there may not be any choice but to run back to court for an order.

However, if your name is still on title, your ex-spouse can’t sell the home unless you sign the deed over to her or a new buyer. Additionally, the home cannot be further mortgaged unless you sign on the mortgage papers too.

Selling the Home

If you and your ex agree to sell the property, the sale will usually require the payoff of the existing mortgage with your name on it. That would take your name off the loan and ownership of the home. The same is true if your ex refinances: a new loan should pay off the old mortgage, and a satisfaction of mortgage will be recorded.

Hidden Problems

There are other problems in a property division in which your name is still on title. In the even that your ex-spouse does not pay the mortgage timely, your own credit will suffer the late notices.

Additionally, if someone is hurt visiting your old home, that person will sue the record title owners for their damages. If your name is on title as an owner, you could be sued. Having liability insurance may be in order, which requires talking to an insurance agent.

My Florida Bar Journal article on property is here.

Tips to Dividing Your Property

On behalf of Ronald H. Kauffman, P.A. posted in Equitable Distribution on Saturday, March 15, 2014.

In a Florida divorce we divide only the marital assets and debts. The process of dividing marital property starts with inventorying everything you acquired. Anything you brought into the marriage, anything inherited, and anything excluded by a prenuptial agreement, is generally not marital.

Hiding Assets

One of the worst thing you can do is hide assets. You may think you can get away with hiding assets, but keep in mind that we divorce attorneys are suspicious, and start with the assumption that assets are being hidden.

From the time you marry until the day your divorce is final you owe a “fiduciary duty.” If you violate this duty there can be legal consequences: a judge can order you to pay your spouse’s legal expenses, you could face an unequal distribution, and you will lose credibility with the judge.

Mediating

The best thing you can do for yourself is to try to settle your property division between the two of you, without mediators and out of court. But what if you can’t come to an agreement?

Hire a mediator to help resolve the tough issues that have kept you from agreeing with your spouse. Your attorney mediates cases very often, and he or she will try to select a mediator that they think can best help you settle your case. Since Florida requires mediation as part of the divorce process anyway, I frequently advise an early mediation – even before you file.

Don’t fight over ‘pots and pans’. No one wins if you end up in court arguing about who gets the Tupperware. Some things have emotional attachments, and try to decide before hand with your attorney what things are most important to you.

Going to Court

Martial property is divided according to Florida’s equitable distribution laws. Unlike courts in California and western states for instance, which are community property states, Florida is an equitable distribution state. In Florida, we start with the principle that marital property is divided equitably, not necessarily equally.

In Florida, a spouse’s financial contribution to the asset, or a spouse’s ability to support themselves post-divorce, or even infidelity can be taken into consideration when dividing property.

You should familiarize yourself with how Florida courts divide property. It will go a long way in helping you when trying to negotiate with your spouse. In fact, you should even consider reading up on Florida’s Chapter 61, the divorce statutes.

To summarize, try to work with your spouse, don’t squabble over the small stuff, don’t hide assets, and learn how Florida laws impact a judge’s decision if they have to make the call over how to divide your life.