By: Mike Gora
Q. In an old joke, the guy says that he liked the fact that his credit card was stolen because the thief spends less than his wife. I am in the middle of a divorce from that woman.
When we separated six months ago after a five-year marriage, I immediately filed a divorce case, and agreed to temporarily support her, so she could afford to move from our home, which I had owned before the marriage. Within weeks after my petition was filed, she went on a shopping spree at the Town Center Mall inBoca Ratonand tuned up my card for $5,000 of clothing, shoes and handbags. The card was in my name, but she had “privileges”.
This debt showed up on her financial affidavit in my divorce case and her lawyer claims that it is a marital debt that I have to share with her. My lawyer says he might be right, that this can go either way. I thought all debt incurred after the petition was filed was non-marital. My lawyer then tells me that the increases in our brokerage account after the petition is marital. I think that I am getting the shaft on both ends of this deal. What do you think?
A. The date of the filing a petition is the “line in the sand” separating marital and non-marital assets and liabilities from marital assets and liabilities. However, the filing date is not “the line in the sand” when it comes to the valuation of the marital property. However, the law is sometimes not so black and white.
For instance, if your wife used the credit card to buy necessities because you had not paid her all the temporary support you were ordered to pay, the charges could become marital, or your debt alone because you were in default of your support obligation.
On the other hand, various dates can be used for the valuation of marital property. Often it is the date of the filing of the petition, but it can be as late as the trial or settlement date or as early as years before if the couple had been separated for many years before either filed a petition.
From the facts that you describe, the post-petition credit card debt would probably not be considered marital debt. On the other hand, passive appreciation in your brokerage account will probably be considered marital property.
Michael H. Gora has been certified by the Board of Specialization and Education of The Florida Bar as a specialist in family and matrimonial law, and is a partner with Shapiro Blasi Wasserman & Gora P.A. in Boca Raton. Mr. Gora may be reached by e-mail at mhgora@sbwlawfirm.com.