$20 Million Wrongful Conviction Settlement is Marital Property in Divorce
Divorce & Family Law Divorce Divorce & Family Law Family Law
Summary: Illinois man is awarded $20 million in a wrongful conviction settlement and is ordered to divide same with his wife who he is now divorcing.
$20 Million Wrongful Conviction Settlement Is Marital Property In Divorce
By: John J. Schrot, Jr.
Be
careful with what you ask for. An
Illinois man who was awarded a $20 million wrongful-conviction settlement has
to divide same with the woman he met and married while in prison but is now
divorcing. He cannot exclude this
fortune from the marital estate, on a claim that it is his separate property,
and therefore not subject to division in the divorce.
The
exonerated inmate spent 20 years incarcerated in a 1992 child-murder case after
having been tried and convicted three times.
His third conviction was reversed by an Appeals Court, as he was cleared
by DNA evidence and freed. The DNA
evidence excluded him and linked another suspect to the rape and murder of an
11 year old girl.
The
exonerated husband’s conviction was overturned in 2011. He went on to sue various law enforcement
agencies, and in 2015 settled those claims for $20 million dollars. In the interim, he filed for divorce in May,
2014, from a woman that he met in 1998 after he was convicted in a second jury
trial. The woman had taken an interest
in and volunteered to work on the man’s case, but thereafter developed a
personal relationship. The parties were
married on October 31, 2000, while he was still serving a life sentence. The divorce action is still pending.
The
wife therein claims that she has a right to a portion of the settlement
monies. She maintains she was a loving
wife who visited him hundreds of times and provided him with invaluable
emotional support during the many years that no one believed in him. He maintains that the injuries he suffered
began before the marriage, continued through the marriage, and will continue
for the rest of his life. He claims he
was tortured into confessing to a crime he didn’t commit. Nevertheless, the Illinois Appeals Court
ruled that the inmate “did not have a property interest in his lawsuit (or
stated differently no lawsuit existed) until the appellate court vacated his
conviction in 2011.” “Because the
lawsuit accrued in 2011, during the marriage, it is marital property subject to
division.”
Michigan
Court “may divide all property that came to either party by reason of the
marriage…” The fruits of a spouse’s
efforts during the marriage have always been classified as marital
property. Furthermore, a spouse’s
otherwise separate property “could be awarded as part of the property to be
divided … (if the other spouse) had contributed to the acquisition, improvement
or accumulation of such property or if an award otherwise was insufficient to
maintain either party.”
In
addition, where a spouse actively manages the separate property during the
marriage, the appreciation in the value of that separate property is part of
the marital estate. Even if an asset is
entirely separate property that has never grown by active (versus passive)
appreciation, been commingled, or the result of the other spouse contributing
to the acquisition, improvement or accumulation of such property, a court may
still invade that separate asset where there is insufficiency of wealth without
regard to the source of the property.
Equity
is the rule of law in the division of a marital estate. Michigan has a “dual classification” model of
property division that recognizes separate and marital property. Michigan is the only state with an equitable
division, dual classification model for divorce without a comprehensive statute
that defines the terms “marital property” or “separate property”. The foregoing sets forth the substance of the
present Michigan statutes. Accordingly,
it is often difficult to determine what is and what is not marital
property. This reconciliation of case
law and more than 150 year old statutes has been left to the court on a
case-by-case basis. Therefore, the
necessity to continue to interpret each case, with an appreciation for
sensitivity to certain facts, promotes litigation, discourages settlement, and
increases costs for both the litigants and the court.
Property
division in divorce in Michigan, and elsewhere, is complex. A divorcing party with any measurable
property needs an experienced and knowledgeable advocate. Should you, a family member or friend be in a
position of contemplating and/or defending a divorce, one will need an energetic,
expert and experienced law firm such as Berry Moorman. Berry Moorman is a firm with expertise in a
wide-variety of legal practice areas so that they compliment one another and provide
the ability to protect your personal and/or business assets. Our team excels at developing strategies to
protect you and your family, whatever the issue.