Why You May Not Benefit From Equal Property Division After Marriage
When divorcing a community property state, the properties you acquired during your marriage are divided equally between the two of you. However, there are exceptions that have been put in place to prevent one spouse from being unfairly disadvantaged by the division. For example, an equitable distribution may not occur if your partner:
Misappropriates Community Property
Your partner cannot misappropriate your community assets and expect to keep them after the divorce. If the court finds that he or she misappropriated any assets, then it will require him or her to transfer to you the appropriate portion. This is the case whether your spouse took ownership of the said assets before or during the divorce.
A good example is when your partner takes funds out of the family joint account, buys a car and registers it in his or her name. In such a case, the family court will force him or her to give up the car during asset division.
Incurs Individual Debts
Apart from misappropriated property, individual debts also belong to the person who incurred them. This includes Guaranteed Student Loans; they belong to the individual who used the money for his or her education. Therefore, your spouse cannot incur lots of debts just before the divorce and expect both of you to bear the burden later.
Is Facing a Tort Liability
When it comes to tort liability, the main issue is whether or not the liability arose out of an activity that was beneficial to both of you. Consider an example where your partner has been sued by a client who was injured in your "mom and pop" store. In this case, you are both liable for the liability because the store benefits both of you. However, if he or she hit a pedestrian while out for a drink, then that becomes his or her sole liability.
Receives a Personal Injury Award
Just like tort liability is directed to the sued spouse, a personal injury award will also be left to the injured spouse. Of course, this only holds for injuries directly affecting the spouse alone. However, if the injuries affected both of you directly, then you are both entitled to the award. An example of this later case is if your award is for a medical malpractice injury incurred by your child.
These laws can be very confusing if you don't have a family lawyer guiding you. In addition, some states do not view them in absolute black and white. Only an attorney specializing in divorce, like Caplin Susan M, can help you with such issues.
