Which Date Forms The Basis Of Equitable Distribution?

Unless you are so financially secure that you are able to live off of the interest from your savings without invading the principal, your net worth is in a constant state of flux.  Most people are in sufficiently precarious financial circumstances that the money left in our checking accounts at the end of a month is not enough to last for another whole month, and we feel noticeably wealthier when a paycheck comes in, only to feel broke again after we have paid our monthly bills.  Likewise, the value of our debts changes every time we charge a purchase on a credit card or make a monthly minimum payment on a car loan.  In many divorce cases, disputes over equitable distribution involve disagreements over the date on which to base the value of a given marital asset; in most cases, the court relies on the value of assets as of the date of the divorce filing or the date when the divorce was finalized.  In cases where one spouse dissipated assets in anticipation of the other spouse filing for divorce and seeking alimony, the court may base its equitable distribution on the value of the assets up to a year before the divorce filing.  If you and your ex agree about how much your marital property was worth on what date but disagree about which date matters for purposes of equitable distribution, contact a Palm Beach County divorce lawyer.

Husband Transfers Money to Foreign Bank Account Before Wife Surprising Him With Divorce Papers

Stanimir and Dyiana got married in Bulgaria and eventually settled in Florida together; the appeals court’s decision does not specify when they married or when they divorced, but based on the fact that Stanimir never objected to Dyiana’s request for permanent alimony, it appears that they were married for at least 17 years.  Rather, their dispute centered on a $100,000 transfer that Stanimir made to a bank account in Bulgaria several months before Dyiana filed for divorce.  There were no allegations of dissipation of marital assets; Dyiana acknowledged that, when Stanimir made the transfer, he could not have known that Dyiana intended to file for divorce.  The parties also agreed that the money was a marital asset.

The question was about the value of the money to be divided.  After Stanimir paid to exchange the money from U.S. currency to Bulgarian currency, its value was only $91,015, and the parties would need to convert it back into dollars to divide it; therefore, its value would be even less at the time of division.  The appeals court ruled that the parties should evenly divide what was left of the money after it had been converted back into dollars.

Let Us Help You Today

A Boca Raton divorce lawyer can help you divide the marital property in your divorce, even if you and your spouse own assets in more than one country.  Contact Schwartz | White for help today.

Resource:

scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=5693713967532374492&q=divorce+equity&hl=en&as_sdt=4,10&as_ylo=2011&as_yhi=2021