Palm Beach Florida Divorce & Family Law Blog
Appropriate division of property and assets in Florida divorce proceedings was recently explained by the Florida Court of Appeal in a case captioned Jackson v. Blazer. In reaching its decision in this division of property and assets matter, the Court turned to the statutory definitions of marital and nonmarital property in the State of Florida. In Florida, marital property includes: (i) assets obtained and liabilities incurred during the course of the marriage; (ii) the increase in the value of nonmarital assets that result from either party’s efforts during the course of the marriage or from the use of marital funds; (iii) the reduction in the principal of any mortgages secured by real property that are nonmarital, and part of any passive appreciation in properties if the mortgages are reduced with marital funds; (iv) gifts that the parties give to each other during the marriage; (v) retirement benefits, annuities, insurance, deferred compensation, and pension and profit-sharing rights obtained during the course of the marriage; and (iv) property held by the husband and wife as tenants by the entireties is presumed to be a marital. This presumption is rebuttable.
Nonmarital property includes: (i) assets obtained and liabilities that are incurred prior to the marriage, and liabilities incurred and assets acquired in exchange for such assets and liabilities; (ii) assets obtained by noninterspousal gift and assets obtained in exchange for these assets; (iii) income derived from assets that are nonmarital, unless the income is used by the parties as a marital asset; (iv) assets and liabilities excluded by prenuptial or postnuptial agreement; and (v) liabilities incurred by unauthorized signature or forgery of a spouse’s signature.
In this case, the former husband purchased one of his cars before the marriage and one of his cars after the filing of the divorce. The former wife purchased her car and took out a loan on her car after the divorce was filed. The Florida appellate court ruled that because the former husband purchased one of his cars prior to the marriage and one of his cars subsequent to the date on which the Petition for Dissolution of Marriage was filed, these assets were nonmarital. Additionally, because the former wife purchased her car and took out the loan on her car after the date of the filing of the Petition for Dissolution of Marriage, the Wife’s car was a nonmarital asset, and the loan on the Wife’s car was a nonmarital liability.
To speak with a divorce attorney in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, contact the Lane Law Firm, P.A. at (561) 363-3400.