Property division process can be a major challenge during a Virginia divorce. The longer spouses remained married and the more success they achieved during the marriage, the harder it may be to fairly divide their property and debts.
Even in scenarios where both spouses behave appropriately, negotiations can take months. In some cases involving financial misconduct, it may be even more difficult for people to address their shared financial resources and obligations.
One of the more common types of financial misconduct during divorce involves the dissipation of marital resources. Dissipation entails wasteful spending or otherwise intentionally trying to diminish the value of marital property.
What types of spending might constitute dissipation in a Virginia divorce?
Money spent to set up a separate household
When one spouse begins preparing for the divorce before they communicate their intentions to the other, they may try to obfuscate their financial behavior. The use of marital income or marital credit cards to acquire property that only one spouse may use when establishing their separate households can constitute dissipation. They spend marital income or add to marital debt, but their purchases are not for the benefit of the marital relationship. Those who purchase furniture, appliances and other items for establishing a separate household with marital resources may have dissipated marital property.
Frivolous shopping out of spite
Some people intentionally waste marital income on unnecessary purchases in the weeks leading up to a divorce filing. For example, one spouse might acquire a new collection of handbags or multiple new suits before they file for divorce. When the purpose behind the spending is to reduce how much money the marital estate contains or increase the debt load of the marital estate, such spending could constitute actionable dissipation.
Spending money on an affair
Few financial activities undermine the marital relationship more quickly than money spent on adultery. In scenarios where someone paid for hotel rooms, took in a fair partner out for extensive meals or purchased them gifts, that spending might also constitute dissipation.
Quantifying the amount of marital resources wasted or the debts accumulated in an attempt to dissipate a marital estate can help people pursue accountability during the property division proceedings of a divorce. Otherwise, dissipation can unfairly influence the financial circumstances of the other spouse and may influence how a judge divides shared property and debts.
