Marital Assets and Liabilities Part 13 of 15 | Divorce Attorney Fort Myers/Naples
Diminished Assets
- A circuit court’s valuation of an asset must be supported by competent, substantial evidence. Tradler v. Tradler, 100 So.3d 735, 738 (Fla. 2d DCA 2012).
- “Substantial evidence” means “‘some (more than a mere iota or scintilla), real, material, pertinent, and relevant evidence (as distinguished from ethereal, metaphysical, speculative or merely theoretical evidence or hypothetical possibilities)’ ” that has definite probative value.
- Lost Earnings on a Retirement Account. The accountant’s testimony was insufficient for the simple reason that the Wife offered no proof of how the funds in the retirement accounts were actually invested. For all the court knew, they were held in bond funds or money market accounts. And even if the accounts were invested in stocks, the increases (or decreases) in their values could not be determined by consulting an index that was not shown to be relevant to those particular investments. Without evidence of the composition of the retirement investments, the increase in a Standard and Poor’s index simply had no probative value. In short, the accountant’s testimony in this regard was speculative. McNorton v. McNorton, 135 So.3d 482 (Fla. 2d DCA 2014).
- Reasonably Related to the Marriage. Sums that have been diminished during dissolution proceedings for purposes reasonably related to the marriage, such as attorney’s fees for the dissolution, should not be included in an equitable distribution scheme unless there is evidence that: 1) one spouse intentionally dissipated the asset for his or her own benefit and 2) for a purpose unrelated to the marriage. Ballard v. Ballard, 158 So.3d 641 (Fla. 1st DCA 2014).
For more information please contact us to schedule your free consultation.
Serving the One
At the Guardian Law Firm, we believe in the sanctity of marriage. It is our goal to provide you with as many resources to help salvage your marriage. If all else fails, we are here to help you facilitate the divorce process to establish long-term stability that minimizes the need for subsequent court action as well as the emotional drain on the parties and families.
We strive to provide the best client service possible in a warm and welcoming environment. To that end, we place a high priority on detail, value, service, and communication, beginning with the initial consultation, and continuing even after the matter is resolved.
We are committed to providing the kind of service and environment that we all want as consumers.
With representation and the right attorneys in their corner, our clients will return to being the productive citizens and family members they have been and wanted to be again.
We truly are here to serve the one.
