Dividing up the marital property in divorce.

By Robin Roshkind, Esquire, West Palm Beach, Florida

Everyone going through a divorce in the State of Florida hears from their lawyers that assets and debts of the marriage have to be equitably divided.

What exactly does that mean?  “Equitable” distribution does not necessarily mean “equal”.  Divorce court in Florida is a court of equity, meaning “fairness”.   So if a husband has a gambling addiction, the wife should not also suffer in divorce by receiving exactly one half of what is left, since the husband already squandered a portion of the marital estate during the marriage.  His “dissipation” of marital assets will be considered and the wife may receive more than one half of what is left to achieve “fairness” or “equitable” distribution of the remaining assets.

“Partial equitable distribution” is another theme in divorce court, where the parties have many assets of the marriage.  One or both spouses ask the court for a partial division of the assets pending the end result, to allow the parties to purchase another separate residence, or to pay the divorce lawyers fees.   

Usually where a married couple has more than just a home and car, there is more to fight over, so parties should follow the advice of counsel when considering temporary or partial agreements.  For more information about this or other divorce topics, call one of the attorneys at ROBIN ROSHKIND, P.A. at 561-835-9091 or click on the Firm’s web site at www.familylawwpb.com.

Are you a victim of dissipation of marital assets?

By Robin Roshkind, Esquire, West Palm Beach, Florida

Dissipation of marital assets by one spouse can effect the entire divorce outcome in terms of distribution of assets and debts.  What exactly is dissipation of marital assets?  Any of the following:

1.  Spending substantial marital funds on a paramour.  2.  Spending marital funds on a gambling habit.   3.  Spending marital funds on drug habit or alcohol.  4.  Secreting marital funds overseas.  5.  Sending marital funds to family members.  6.  Liquidating marital funds for any non marital purpose.

If any of these describe your situation, consult with one of the attorneys at ROBIN ROSHKIND, P.A. by calling 561-835-9091, or click on the Firm’s web site at www.familylawwpb.com.

Divorce and the wedding gifts…who gets what?

By Robin Roshkind, Esquire, West Palm Beach, Florida

I have some clients who just realized they made a mistake.  The marriage is only 3 months old, or one year old, or anything inbetween, making it a short lived experience.  The question becomes who gets what.

In short term marriages, generally there is no entitlement to alimony or attorneys fees, unless a prenuptial agreement says otherwise.    As far as equitable distribution of assets and debts goes, what  you come into the marriage with you go out of the marriage with…unless it is joint property.

Wedding gifts to either party is considered marital or joint property.  However, in short term situations, where the parties can reasonably discuss the fact that they rushed into something and made a mistake, then usually they can agree that the wife’s friends and family gifts go to her and the husband’s friends and family gifts go to him.  If there is something of exceptional value, then one party should “buy out” the other.  Another way to divide the wedding gifts, yet more difficult,  is by value.  Ideally, the two parties should come out with relatively the same amount of value.

Another topic in divorce is who pays for the wedding?  If one party paid for the wedding, that is seen as a voluntary act, pre marital.  If, by agreement, the parties can split the costs,  the marital settlement agreement should indicate that. 

For more information about this or other divorce topics, call one of the attorneys at ROBIN ROSHKIND, P.A. at 561-835-9091 or click on the Firm’s web site at www.familylawwpb.com.

Warning to (mostly) women…stash the cash.

By Robin Roshkind, Esquire, West Palm Beach, Florida

Here’s the scenario:  Husband moves out of the marital home, away from wife and children, to live with Girlfriend.  Husband earns more than wife.  Husband has controlled the family finances.  When Husband moves out, he does not leave behind tax returns, pay stubs, credit cards, bank statements, his computer or $$$.  What is a wife to do?

The answer is:  be prepared for the worst case scenario.  That being the Husband (or wife if she is the major breadwinner of the family), can cut the spouse off completely, temporarily, leaving him or her without money for even groceries.  Yes, husbands and wives, this does happen, and all too often!

Needless to say, this type of situation leads to an acrimonious and costly divorce.  In order to protect yourself from this situation of not having $$$ for groceries, let alone an attorney, you should have a SECRET nest egg.  Cash stashed away for a rainy day.  You may need it for basic necessities, to pay the electric bill, to feed children, and to hire a divorce lawyer to get you some financial relief.

Very often husbands or wives have to borrow money from family and friends to sustain themselves until we can get into court to ask the judge for temporary support.  Moral of the story:  Don’t be caught without cash. 

For questions about this or other divorce topics, call one of the attorneys at ROBIN ROSHKIND, P.A. at 561-835-9091 or click on the Firm’s web site at www.familylawwpb.com.

Divorce and Jewelry…What is Marital?

By Robin Roshkind, Esquire, West Palm Beach, Florida

Many women are surprised to learn that in divorce cases, their jewelry may or may not be theirs.   In Florida, which is an equitable disribution state, gifts between husbands and wives during the marriage, if purchased with marital income, are marital property.  Therefore jewelry is divisible in divorce.

The engagement ring, given prior to the marriage, is the wife’s to kep if in fact she married.  This is a viewed under the law as a pre-marital gift.  But a husband’s jewelry, if given during the marriage, and a wife’s jewelry, if given during the marriage, is deemed to be marital property. 

In divorce, normally what happens, is if it is substantial, saay worth more than $100,000 an appraisal is taken.  Then the husband or wife will keep the “stuff” but the other spouse will be given the equivilant one half dollar amount from some other joint asset such as the marital home, or a bank account. 

In vindictive divorces, jewelry has been known to be “stolen” so if you find yourself in this type of situation, don’t leave your jewelry laying around.  It is hard to prove it was the spouse who did the stealing.   For more information, click on the website of Robin Roskind, P.A. at www.familylawwpb.com or call to consult with one of the attorneys at the Firm at 561-835-9091.