Reviewing financial records carefully is a standard part of the divorce preparation process. People need to understand their joint obligations and shared assets if they hope to negotiate appropriate property division terms.
Some people may engage in misconduct during a marriage that affects not only the marital relationship but also the marital estate. In those cases, the other spouse may have grounds to claim they experienced the dissipation of marital property.
Those with proof of intentional dissipation can ask the court to consider that financial misconduct during property division proceedings. Gathering evidence requires review of spending habits and an analysis of transactions or account balances that might reflect inappropriate financial conduct.
What is dissipation?
Dissipation can involve efforts to intentionally increase marital debt or waste marital resources in preparation for or in response to a pending divorce. If one spouse drastically alters their financial habits immediately before filing for divorce, their spending during that time could constitute dissipation.
Similarly, if one spouse takes on debts or wastes marital income for purposes that damage the marital relationship, that could also constitute dissipation. Credit card balances accrued while conducting an extramarital affair or records of money spent on substance abuse during a marriage could help prove that dissipation occurred and influence how the courts ultimately divide marital property and allocate responsibility for marital debts.
Having experienced legal guidance can be beneficial for those concerned about the spending habits of a spouse. People with evidence of intentional dissipation can potentially secure a property division decree that fairly factors in the verifiable financial misconduct of their spouse.