Family Law - MP or SP? Flashcards
(17 cards)
Suppose you earn $10k the month before your wedding.
SP, because it was earned before marriage
One year after getting married, you buy yourself a new car with your firm bonus.
MP, the car was acquired during marriage. It does not matter if the car is titled in your name alone
What if you sell the car one year before divorcing, and you still have the resulting $30k
The car is no longer MP or SP, it is someone else’s property. The $30k is MP
After getting married you inherit a $100k house from your grandmother
SP, inheritances are SP
You sell inherited house, and use the money to buy a new sports car.
SP, the car was paid for with SP
As an anniversary present, you buy your spouse a new car.
MP, although it is a gift, it is not a gift from a third party. Spousal gifts are MP
Ryan starts a liquor business, then marries Blake, then starts a mobile phone business. Ryan puts maximum effort into both businesses during the marriage and both grow in value substantially.
- Mobile phone business - MP , it was founded during the marriage.
- Liquor business - SP, it was founded during the marriage
- But the increased value due to Ryan’s marital effort is MP
Business Good Will
*The value of any business good will will already be incorporated into business’s value
* Business goodwill can be marital property or separate property - business goodwill generated during the marriage will be marital property
Channing starts writing a screenplay before getting married to Jenna. After the wedding, he puts in long hours finishing the screenplay
Part MP. It was created partially during the marriage
You get married before starting law school. You graduate, pass the bar, and develop a stellar reputation as a litigator. What of the JD? Stellar Professional reputation?
- JD - SP. Degrees are not marital property
- Reputation - SP. Cannot sell professional reputation to someone else, it is not property
Zoey buys a house before marriage, so it is separate property. During her marriage to Jonathan, Zoey renovates it using $100K in salary that Zoey earned during the marriage. This was a good investment, and it increased the value of the house by $150k.
- Increased value due to the investment of marital property - MP.
- The rest is SP, or Zoey will have to repay the $100k back into the marital pot
You get into a car accident on the way to the bar exam before you are married. Then you get married. During the marriage you hire a lawyer, and you win a tort award of $1m. What of the award?
SP. The key is when you obtained the right to sue (at the time of the injury), not when you actually collect
You get into a car accident while married and eventually win $500k in pain and suffering and $400k in lost wages. Your spouse also wins $100k in lost consortium
- Either all of it is MP because the injury occurred during marriage; or
- Pain and suffering: Your SP; Lost consortium, Spouse’s SP. Lost Wages, Part MP, to the extent that the award is replacing wages that would have been marital property
You work for Big Law, which offers all employees a pension after they work for 30 years. You work for 10 years, then get married, then work for another 10 years, then get divorced, then work for a final 10 years. Pension MP?
Part MP. part of the pension value was earned during the marriage.
Probably 1/3 of the pension value will be MP
You retire and start to receive SS benefits.
SP
You get married and work for a tech start-up. They pay you in part with stock options (which give you the right to buy company stock at some low price in the future). You do not exercise those options yet (that is, you have not bought the stock at the low price.) Are the stocks MP or SP?
MP, the key is when you earned the option, which was during the marriage
