Articles Posted in Division Of Property And Assets
March 19, 2025
by SmartSites
In a recent division of property and assets case, captioned Gotro v. Gotro the Florida Court of Appeal held that a trial court should not include expended assets in an equitable distribution scheme unless these assets were dissipated as a result of one of the parties’ misconduct. In this case, the parties had a 39 year marriage and had 4 adult children. The husband was the primary breadwinner. The husband had a number of bank accounts which were marital assets. The significant bank accounts, for purposes of this appeal, were two accounts at BBVA Compass Bank. By the time that the final hearing took place, the balances in these two bank accounts was significantly lower than they had been at the time of the filing of the divorce. The husband testified that he had used the money in these accounts for his living expenses. The husband requested that the trial court distribute these accounts based upon their value at the time of the final hearing and not as of the date of the filing of the dissolution of marriage. In fashioning its final judgment, the trial court used the values in the accounts as of the date of the filing of the divorce.
In fashioning a division of property and assets the trial court can utilize any date of valuation that the court decides is equitable and just. Different assets can be valued as of different dates. However, it is usually inappropriate to include assets that no longer exist in a division of property scheme. The exception to this rule is when one of the parties’ misconduct results in dissipation of the parties assets during the pendency of the proceedings. A parties’ misconduct may become the basis for assigning an expended asset to that spouse. If the trial court decides to do this, in its ruling, the court must make specific findings that spouse engaged in intentional misconduct. The court must find that the parties’ expended asset was used for a purpose unrelated to the marriage during a time when the parties’ marriage was undergoing a breakdown.
If your spouse has used marital assets to support a girlfriend or a boyfriend, contact Florida divorce attorney Matthew Lane, Esq. at Matthew Lane & Associates, P.A. at (561) 363-3400.
Continue reading
March 19, 2025
by SmartSites
The division of property and assets in a divorce proceeding cannot include property that was previously conveyed to the parties’ children. In a recently decided case captioned Perez v. Perez, the parties were married for twenty-three years. The husband and wife owned several pieces of real estate. During the course of the marriage, they conveyed four pieces of real estate to their sons. As part of the final judgment in the divorce proceeding, the trial court awarded some of the real estate that was conveyed to the children to the husband and some of this real estate to the wife.
During the course of this divorce proceeding, the wife sued her sons as third party defendants claiming that her husband and sons had engaged in a scheme to defraud her. The husband contended that the wife agreed to the transfer at the time that it was made. In point of fact, the wife signed the deeds conveying the property to her sons. In making its equitable distribution award, the trial court included the properties that the parties had conveyed to the children.
The Florida Court of Appeal reversed the trial court’s ruling on the division of property and assets. The appellate court stated that the lower court improperly awarded property to the husband and wife that they had previously conveyed to their children. The Florida statutes create a clear rule as to when property is deemed to be marital and nonmarital. Absent a separation agreement, the date to determine when an asset is marital or nonmarital is the date of the filing of the divorce. The lower court should have looked at what the parties owned when the divorce was filed. An asset that was previously conveyed to another person cannot be awarded to a spouse as part of an equitable distribution award in a divorce proceeding. The property deeded to the children was a nonmarital asset and should not have been part of the equitable distribution in this matter. Accordingly, the Court of Appeal held that the trial court’s distribution of the son’s property was improper and reversed the ruling.
Continue reading
March 19, 2025
by SmartSites
A division of property and assets case captioned Ritacco v. Ritacco was recently decided by the Florida Court of Appeal. This case involved a twenty-two year marriage. During the course of the marriage, the parties had two children. Both are now adults. The Husband drew a salary, received a pension, and owned a DROP account. The Wife moved out of the marital home on the day that she filed her Petition for Dissolution of Marriage.
The Wife also borrowed $65,761.00 from the parties’ HELOC on that date. The Wife deposited these funds into her bank account. She testified at the final hearing that she used these funds to support her daughter and herself. She stated that she used these funds to purchase gas, clothing, food, and to pay for medical visits for her daughter. At the hearing, the Husband asserted that the Wife’s withdrawal from the HELOC was a non-marital debt.
The Florida Court of Appeal stated that under Florida statutes, there are three dates that a Court may utilize to classify marital assets and liabilities. The first date is the date on which the parties executed a valid separation agreement. The second date is a date agreed to by the parties in a valid separation agreement. In the event that neither of these dates apply, the date that Florida Courts utilize to classify marital assets and liabilities is the date that a Petition for Dissolution of Marriage is filed.
Continue reading
March 18, 2025
by SmartSites
In a division of property and assets case captioned Roth v. Roth the Wife appealed the Final Judgment of divorce. The parties were married for twenty-nine years. At the time of the hearing, the Wife was fifty-eight and the Husband was seventy-four. Both of the parties worked in the automotive industry. The Husband was the primary income earner during the marriage. The Wife was a stay-at-home parent after the parties’ son was born, and returned to the workforce when their son was in high school.
During the marriage, the Husband was in a car accident and suffered injuries. The Husband and Wife filed suit and recovered $28,154.64. The Wife withdrew approximately $13,000.00 of the settlement proceeds the day before she left the parties’ marital home. The Wife testified that she used these funds to pay for her attorney’s fees and her living expenses. The Husband testified that he needed to use these funds to have an operation for an injury to his neck, because he could not afford it otherwise.
The Florida Court of Appeal ruled that in a personal injury case, a damage award is distributed in the following manner. First, payments for pain and suffering, disability, loss of consortium, and loss of ability to lead a normal life are considered to be nonmarital property. Payments for these loses belonged exclusively to the Husband. Second, economic damages which will occur subsequent to the termination of the marriage, including lost future wages and future medical expenses are considered to be nonmarital and belong exclusively to the Husband.
Continue reading
