What is wasteful dissipation in a Louisville divorce? How does this aspect of family law affect property characterization and distribution, especially in the wake of an affair?
Do you believe your former spouse had an affair and spent money on gifts, travel or other related expenses? Did a vindictive spouse purposefully run up the credit cards or make a large purchase like a new car just before the divorce? Do you suspect your spouse may have given property or money to close friends or family members? Did your former spouse lose a lot of money on poor investments, gambling or deplete funds to support a drug or alcohol habit?
These may all be symptoms of wasteful dissipation in a Louisville divorce. Spouses have a powerful legal fiduciary duty to one another from the marriage until the Judge issues the final decree in the divorce. The fiduciary duty requires each spouse to act in the other’s best interests and to protect marital assets. The experienced divorce and family law attorneys at Dodd & Dodd work with our clients to determine if the actions of a spouse rise to the level of wasteful dissipation of marital assets. This can result in a substantial difference during marital property characterization and division.
While wasteful dissipation in a Louisville divorce requires substantial evidence it is absolutely possible to bring these actions to light and hold them accountable while protecting our client’s interests. If a spouse simply has poor money management habits or habitually handled finances loosely throughout the marriage it would not constitute dissipation in a divorce case. The Louisville Family Court will look for purposeful behavior and elements of either intentional overspending, hiding purchases or expenses or other behaviors and its relationship with the divorce and/or the timing of the end of the marriage.
We invite you to review the strong recommendations of our former clients and contact us or call 502-584-1108 to schedule an appointment with one of our experienced divorce and family law attorneys.
