Clients going through divorce often are startled when they find out a major asset they had before getting married, such as a house or an investment account, is considered “joint property” to be divided by a judge. Here’s how this unpleasant surprise can occur. After the wedding, Spouse 1 moves into Spouse 2’s premarital home.
Appellant held title to real property that was deemed subject to equitable division in the divorce of her son from his wife. The couple was married in 1978. Appellant acquired a home in 1991 and allowed the couple to live there. In 1996, Appellant deeded to the property to her son individually, as a gift…. Read More
Parties were divorced in Louisiana, a community property state. After moving to Georgia 12 years later, Wife attempted to domesticate the decree and implement a constructive trust on her interest in Husband’s military retirement benefits. Court of Appeals transferred the case to the Supreme Court based on SC’s jurisdiction over all divorce and alimony cases,… Read More
The parties purchased a lake house after they married and titled it solely in Wife’s name. Wife took out a line of credit, with lake house as collateral, to use as a down payment on the marital residence. Wife subsequently extended the same line of credit, putting additional money into the couple’s business. The parties… Read More
Husband and Wife were divorced pursuant to a Total Judgment and Decree of Divorce entered on June 5, 2009. During the trial of the case, the trial court refused to allow Wife to introduce evidence of a Temporary Order that had been entered in the divorce action on February 15, 2007. Wife contends that evidence… Read More
Parties divorced in 2009, decree determined alimony, custody, child support, but reserved fees. Found parties’ real property (marital residence and Amelia Island lot) to be marital, and profits from sales would be equally divided. Trial court accepted Wife’s expert’s valuation of Husband’s medical practice, which used combination of Asset, Market, and Income approaches. Trial court… Read More
Facts: Husband and Wife divorced in 2007 by Decree, incorporating a settlement agreement. H was member of U.S. Navy. Agreement stated that, upon H’s retirement, W was entitled to only the portion of his retirement benefits that Navy required be paid to her. If such payments were required, H agreed to sign all documents to ensure… Read More
Court held that lump sum alimony to Wife in amount of $600,000 was not excessive when Husband owned property worth over $1.6 million and had a monthly gross income exceeding $16,600. Georgia law permits the Court to require a party to sell or encumber property in order to pay equitable division and alimony awards. Court… Read More
Going through a divorce is a difficult and emotional process, and understanding how marital property will be divided is often one of the most important aspects of the process. In Georgia, property division is governed by equitable distribution, which means that the court will divide assets and debts in a manner that is deemed fair… Read More