Husband and Wife Fight Over Whose Estate a Hospital Bill Belongs To

One of the major questions that will need to be resolved during your divorce is whether or not specific items are property of the marital estate or an individual spouse. Under Florida law, Florida Statutes § 61.075 governs how assets are classified and distributed under Florida’s rules of equitable distribution.

According to the statute, all property that is acquired during the marriage is considered property of the marital estate. All property acquired before or after the marriage belongs to an individual spouse.

In the case of Reese v. Reese, a hospital bill that was incurred toward the end of the marriage was assigned the liability of the wife. The wife appealed this decision arguing that the hospital bill should have been considered property of the marriage.

According to the case, the wife incurred the hospital bill sometime in February of 2020. The husband filed for a dissolution of marriage on February 10, 2020. In this case, if the date that the hospital bill was incurred was after February 10, then the hospital bill would be the liability of the wife and not the marriage. If the hospital bill was incurred before February 10, then the bill would be the liability of the marriage and not the wife. In this case, the cut-off date was February 10, 2020.

The cut-off date for determining assets and liabilities to be identified or classified as marital assets and liabilities is the earliest of the date the parties enter into a valid separation agreement, such other date as may be expressly established by such agreement, or the date of the filing of a petition for dissolution of marriage. The date for determining the value of assets and the amount of liabilities identified or classified as marital is the date or dates as the judge determines is just and equitable under the circumstances. Different assets may be valued as of different dates, as, in the judge’s discretion, the circumstances require. (Florida Statutes 61.075(7))

Burden of proof 

In this case, the appeals court found in favor of the wife and decided that the hospital bill should be classified as marital property as opposed to individual property. But how? Essentially, the husband had the burden of proving that the hospital bill did not belong to the marital estate. In his efforts to get the hospital bill classified as an individual debt, the husband failed to present any pertinent evidence regarding the debt. With the burden of proving the debt occurred outside the cut-off date, the husband was unable to meet that burden. Ultimately, the court found that, without useful evidence regarding the debt, the debt should be classified as part of the marital estate.

Talk to a Tampa, FL Family Law Attorney Today

 The Tampa family lawyers at Westchase Law, P.A. represent the interests of Tampa residents who are pursuing a divorce. Call our office today to schedule an appointment, and we can begin discussing key areas of your divorce such as equitable distribution of the marital estate, alimony, child custody, and child support.

Source:

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