Articles Posted in Marital assets

Litigation, in which parties argue their cases before a judge, is only a small part of what happens in Florida’s family law courts. Courts deal with agreements as much as, or more than, they do with disagreements. One might not think of the words “agreement” and “divorce” as belonging together in the same sentence, but…

News stories about the complicated divorce proceedings of high-powered couples are nothing out of the ordinary in Florida. In many cases, the main complicating factor is the couple’s wealth.  It is not simple to divide a couple’s assets when they own many millions of dollars of property together. In the divorce of Alan Grayson (D-FL),…

The question frequently arises in a divorce case as to whether or not an inheritance is a marital asset or non-marital asset.  The Florida equitable distribution statute which deals with the distribution of assets, both marital and nonmarital, clearly sets forth that assets acquired separately by either party by non interspousal gift, bequest, devise, or…

Equitable distribution of marital assets comes in many forms.  One such form is the enhanced equity that one party obtains when his non-marital mortgage is paid down during the course of the marriage with marital funds.  Support for this proposition is found under Florida Statute 61.075(6)(a)(1)(b). In the case of Somasca v Somasca, 171 So3rd…

In a dissolution of marriage action, the court is required to identify all the marital assets and to establish the value for those marital assets. Stock is just one example of what might be considered a marital asset in a divorce case.  Stocks which are traded routinely on an exchange have a value that is…

A trial court in a divorce proceeding lacks the legal authority to order the sale of jointly owned real property, unless there was a specific pleading asking for partition of the real property. Partition is a request that is made by one of the parties to sell jointly owned real property.  The court in the…

It is understandable that some spouses who are divorcing are not necessarily in the mindset to cooperate with one another. After all, fighting and disagreements have likely played a role in the decision to end their marriage. However, refusal to come to an agreement regarding one or more issues in a divorce can cause serious…

When two people get married, it often makes sense to combine finances. Spouses open joint bank accounts and combine their incomes to help each other pay off debts–both pre-existing debts and new ones acquired during the marriage. In many situations, spouses may depend on one another to be able to cover their monthly bills. This…

Many people have heard of the term “common law marriage” and may use it to describe couples who have lived together for many years. Couples may consider themselves to be basically married or in a common law marriage if they have been together for a long time but simply never tied the knot. However, Florida…

Dividing money and property in a divorce can always be complex. However, the process can become more complicated if one or both spouses have retirement accounts. Like any other assets, investments, or property, the state of Florida requires equitable distribution of the retirement accounts between the spouses. The process of dividing retirement accounts can require…