How Court Treats Post Separation Payments, Part 1
Let’s suppose that you provided funds, checks, cash, or other payments to your ex since separation. You have a claim pending for equitable distribution, which seeks to divide your marital property. But court is slow and it can take some time for the court to reach your case. When it does, how should the court treat those payments you made? Were they gifts, or were they something the court ought to consider in equitable distribution?
The leading case in this scenario is Cobb v. Cobb. There, a plaintiff paid roughly $45,000 to defendant after separation. That money was in addition to sums paid to defendant for child support. This means that there was no obligation to give defendant that $45,000. The trial court treated that amount as an advance on the distribution of the marital estate. The defendant appealed and argued that it was error for the trial court to