Reasonable Use of Marital Funds During a Pending Divorce Case
You and your spouse might have adopted a policy during your marriage where you don’t fight about every expense. Some couples keep part of their money in separate bank accounts and part of it in a joint bank account, and it is each spouse’s own business how to spend the money in his or her separate account. Other couples keep everything in a joint account, but each spouse can spend a certain amount on purchases of his or her choice, no questions asked. Once the couple files for divorce, their finances come under closer scrutiny. For starters, they must submit disclosures to the court about their income and the value of their marital assets and debts, but what is more difficult than that is that they must decide how to divide the marital property. Sometimes the court must even rule on disputes about which assets are marital and which ones are separate. The worst exes spend as much marital money as they can while the divorce is pending, just so there is less marital property to share when the divorce becomes final. In some cases, the court even issues a status quo order, prohibiting the parties from selling marital assets or taking on more debt until the divorce becomes final. The court might also award you a greater share of marital property if your ex engaged in marital conduct by intentionally sabotaging your marital finances during or shortly before your divorce. If you and your spouse disagree about expenses during the pendency of your divorce, contact a Boca Raton divorce lawyer.
Not Every Transaction After Filing for Divorce Is Marital Misconduct
A couple in the Florida panhandle got divorced after 32 years of marriage. For most of their marriage, they had operated a small business together, but by the time they filed for divorce in 2012, its revenues were lower than they had been at the store’s peak, mostly because of competition from big box retailers and online sales. Despite this, the couple had accumulated enough savings that each spouse could have a comfortable retirement with his or her share of the savings. After filing for divorce, they paid off the mortgage on the marital home and sold it, and each spouse moved to a new apartment. They also paid for the wedding of one of their daughters and gave the other a cash gift as a contribution to a down payment on a house.
Despite this, no disagreements arose about how much the marital estate should be worth when the divorce became final. The parties agreed that all of the expenses were reasonable; they had spent the money to accomplish their divorce. Some couples might disagree about expenses related to their adult children, but this couple did not.
Contact Schwartz | White About Divorce Late in Life
A South Florida family law attorney can help you if you are getting a divorce after your children have grown up. Contact Schwartz | White in Boca Raton, Florida about your case.
Source:
scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=26072693803417760&q=divorce+market&hl=en&as_sdt=4,10&as_ylo=2014&as_yhi=2024
