Contribution to Separate Property Either Spouse’s spouse makes a labor, money, or an in-kind “When either contribution that an increase in the value of separate causes property, that increase in value is deemed marital property.” increase in the value of separate property due “An to efforts is marital either spouse’s property.” Separate Property real and personal property and any interest in – “All real or personal property that is found by the court to be any of the following: . . . Passive income and appreciation acquired from separate property by one spouse during the marriage.” Passive Income acquired other than as a result of the – “Income labor, monetary, or in-kind contribution of either spouse.” E.g., you own land, and all by itself, it appreciates in value. and work is passive. It is labor. NOT Executives’ managers’ Other States All income and profit from separate property remains separate. – E.g., California. Appreciation of Marital Asset Some states treat the appreciation as marital, – regardless of whether either of the spouses contributed to the appreciation. E.g., Oregon. Dates of Marriage Beginning Day of legal marriage ceremony. – Ending Some states regard as separate all property (and increases in value) acquired after the date of legal separation. E.g., California. Some states continue to count as marital all property acquired until the date on which one party files for divorce, the trial is held, or divorce is granted. E.g., New York. Timing and Methods of Valuation Pages 496–97 – To be upheld, a court must show that evidence was received and that it was considered. Court cannot just throw darts at a board. Expert Evidence Several different methods, and all are acceptable. – Court does have to adopt the value that any expert assigns to an NOT asset, but it must consider that values. Stock Options Difficult to value. DC allows the transfer of stock options in the – event of divorce, but this is not true in most jurisdictions. Contributions of Homemakers Injustice of title system toward homemakers’ contributions Primary Acknowledgement of Contributions Equitable Homemakers’ – distribution of all marital assets in title jurisdictions Valuation Difficult and may vary widely – Based on opportunity cost or economic contributions to the household. Modern Approach look not only at cash contributions and – “Courts assistance in the workplace or business, but also to domestic spouse’s work in the home such as caring for children, cooking meals, cleaning house, and washing and ironing clothes.”
Either Spouse’s Contribution to Separate Property “When either spouse makes a labor, money, or an in-kind contribution that causes an increase in the value of separate property, that increase in value is deemed marital property.” “An increase in the value of separate property due to either spouse’s efforts is marital property.” Separate Property – “All real and personal property and any interest in real or personal property that is found by the court to be any of the following: . . . Passive income and appreciation acquired from separate property by one spouse during the marriage.” Passive Income – “Income acquired other than as a result of the labor, monetary, or in-kind contribution of either spouse.” E.g., you own land, and all by itself, it appreciates in value. Executives’ and managers’ work is NOT passive. It is labor. Other States – All income and profit from separate property remains separate. E.g., California. Appreciation of Marital Asset – Some states treat the appreciation as marital, regardless of whether either of the spouses contributed to the appreciation. E.g., Oregon. Dates of Marriage Beginning – Day of legal marriage ceremony. Ending Some states regard as separate all property (and increases in value) acquired after the date of legal separation. E.g., California. Some states continue to count as marital all property acquired until the date on which one party files for divorce, the trial is held, or divorce is granted. E.g., New York. Timing and Methods of Valuation – Pages 496–97 To be upheld, a court must show that evidence was received and that it was considered. Court cannot just throw darts at a board. Expert Evidence – Several different methods, and all are acceptable. Court does NOT have to adopt the value that any expert assigns to an asset, but it must consider that values. Stock Options – Difficult to value. DC allows the transfer of stock options in the event of divorce, but this is not true in most jurisdictions. Contributions of Homemakers Injustice of title system toward homemakers’ contributions Primary Acknowledgement of Homemakers’ Contributions – Equitable distribution of all marital assets in title jurisdictions Valuation – Difficult and may vary widely Based on opportunity cost or economic contributions to the household. Modern Approach – “Courts look not only at cash contributions and assistance in the spouse’s workplace or business, but also to domestic work in the home such as caring for children, cooking meals, cleaning house, and washing and ironing clothes.”
Family%20Law%20Outline_Ross.docx