People preparing for divorce want to protect themselves throughout the process. Many people focus on obtaining a fair financial outcome. The resources they retain after the divorce help lay the foundation for their future financial stability.
As people start discussing the division of marital assets and debts, they may notice unusual financial transactions that give them reason for concern. Sometimes, one spouse engages in financial misconduct as a way of manipulating property division proceedings. Some people hide assets so they don’t have to share them. Other people might intentionally diminish their marital estate. The dissipation of marital property can be a tactic one spouse uses to influence property division and punish a spouse.
What types of financial conduct during a divorce constitute dissipation?
Destroying or giving away marital property
Some people use personal assets as a means of punishing a spouse during divorce. Many people have heard stories of one spouse giving away the other’s work tools or smashing their electronics. Intentionally destroying or giving away marital property can constitute dissipation. So can selling marital assets for far less than their fair market value. Records of such behavior can potentially influence how the courts divide the remainder of the marital estate.
Spending marital money or incurring major debt
Some people dissipate marital property through shopping. They buy expensive items they intend to keep for themselves or waste money on frivolous services that they did not utilize during the marriage routinely. Some people empty out checking and savings accounts, while others accrue large amounts of marital debt on purpose. The courts may hold someone responsible for inappropriate amounts spent or may declare them personally accountable for the debts they accumulated.
Wasting marital resources on an affair
One of the most common forms of dissipation that people discover when reviewing financial statements during a divorce involves an extramarital affair. Someone trying to hide a second relationship from their spouse may have a secret mobile phone. They may pay to rent hotel rooms or might pay for their affair partner’s apartment. People cheating on their spouses may take trips with an affair partner or buy them expensive gifts. The amounts wasted on such behavior can influence the final division of the marital estate.
Reviewing financial records carefully to discover, and potentially quantify, dissipation can help spouses demand accountability during property division proceedings. Financial misconduct prior to or during a divorce can influence how the courts handle financial matters.
