Valid Prenuptial Agreement must be followed; Non-existent assets can’t be included in marital estate By Kansas City Divorce Attorney Mark Wortman on June 28, 2013 Posted in Assets and Debts, Divorce, Financial Issues, Pre-Nuptial Agreements, Property Division Recent case: Missouri Court of Appeals, Eastern District – ED98742 Husband appeals the trial court’s dissolution judgment in various respects relating to the characterization and division of property awarded to his former spouse. DECISION: The trial court cannot include assets or money in the marital estate that no longer exist at the time of trial,… Continue Reading
Adding Spouse to Legal Title Transmutes Non-Marital Real Property to Marital; Wedding Rings are Separate Non-Marital Property By Kansas City Divorce Attorney Mark Wortman on June 23, 2012 Posted in Assets and Debts, Divorce, Modifications, Pre-Nuptial Agreements, Property Division Recent Case: JJ v. EJ Missouri Court of Appeals, Western District – WD74148 Adding a spouse to the title of non-marital property, in this case a farm, transmutes separate non-marital property into marital property. Consequently, when Respondent re-titled the property adding his spouse to the title, the farm became marital property. When the parties placed… Continue Reading
Missouri Supreme Court Decision: Spouse’s Contribution to Separate Property Creates Marital Interest In Property Which May Be Divided by Trial Court By Kansas City Divorce Attorney Mark Wortman on May 16, 2010 Posted in Assets and Debts, Divorce, Financial Issues, Legal Separation, military divorce, Pre-Nuptial Agreements, Property Division In a recent decision by the Supreme Court of Missouri, the Court held that a spouses contribution to otherwise separate property creates a marital interest that can be divided by the Court. In Missouri, property that was owned prior to the marriage is generally considered to be separate, non-marital property. Separate property is awarded to the… Continue Reading
What California’s Same Sex Marriage Law Means to Missourians By Kansas City Divorce Attorney Mark Wortman on July 12, 2008 Posted in Child Support, Custody and Visitation, Divorce, Legal Proceedings, Marriage and Family, Pre-Nuptial Agreements As most people know, the California Supreme Court recently ruled that the state’s ban on same-sex marriage was unconstitutional. So what does that mean for Missourians? In California, there were two statutes that said that a marriage is between a man and a woman, which was interpreted to prohibit same sex marriage. The Supreme Court… Continue Reading
