Case Study: Asset Division for Marital Dissolution of a Short-Term Marriage

Issue:

Wife entered marriage with high net worth primarily invested in real estate. Husband’s pre-marital assets consisted of a retirement account and modest cash. During the brief three-year marriage, equity was drained from wife’s pre-marital real estate through increased borrowings. In the final year of the marriage, the borrowing proceeds were used to acquire multiple new properties which were jointly titled.

Assignment:

Counsel for wife engaged Morones Analytics to trace the source of funds used to purchase properties during the marriage to determine if funds could be traced to wife’s pre-marital assets. Our extensive investigation included review of over twenty bank accounts, mortgage statements, and real estate transaction documents.

Resolution:

Morones Analytics traced 98% of the cash used to acquire new properties as coming from refinances and sales of wife’s pre-marital real estate holdings. Prior to trial, husband’s counsel argued for half of all jointly titled real estate. Shortly after testimony by Morones Analytics, the parties settled with husband accepting significantly less than his pre-trial demand.