Judge Annuls US Lawmaker's Marriage Making Asset Division Null
by
Joseph C. Maya on Jun. 26, 2017
Divorce & Family Law Divorce Divorce & Family Law
Summary: A blog post about a lawmaker whose annulment means the marriage never existed so the lawmaker does not need to worry about dividing the assets evenly.
If you have questions about divorce, legal separation, annulment, or alimony in Connecticut, please feel free to call the experienced divorce attorneys at Maya Murphy, P.C. in Westport today at 203-221-3100 or email Joseph C. Maya, Esq. at JMaya@Mayalaw.com.
A Florida judge on Tuesday annulled a wealthy federal lawmaker’s longtime marriage, finding it to be invalid because his wife was already married when they wed.
That means U.S. Representative Alan Grayson, D-Florida, won’t have to worry about dividing marital assets in his pending divorce, his lawyer says, because the marriage, from a legal standpoint, never occurred, the Orlando Sentinel reports.
“It would be our position that since the marriage is an annulment, there are no such things as marital assets,” attorney Mark NeJame told the newspaper. “It’s extremely important because there are substantial assets that are involved.”
Grayson, said to be worth some $30 million, is planning to run for a U.S. Senate seat.
Neither the Sentinel nor WKMG, which also has a story about the Orange County Circuit Court annulment ruling, includes any comment from Grayson’s estranged wife or her legal counsel.
Grayson married Lolita Grayson in 1990, and she filed for divorce in January of last year. However, he responded by seeking the annulment, contending that their marriage wasn’t valid because she hadn’t disclosed a prior marriage in 1980 that had never been dissolved, the Palm Beach Post reported last month.
Original Issue
The Tampa Bay Times provides additional information on this matter:
The amended complaint, filed last month in Orange County Circuit Court, does not mention the Orlando Democrat’s potential campaign but asks a judge to seize his assets until the case is resolved. Grayson is the 17th wealthiest member of Congress, with a net worth of more than $26 million.
The backstory is messy. Lolita Grayson filed for divorce in April 2014 but Alan Grayson countered with a petition for annulment, saying Lolita was still married when they were wed.
The case taken wild twists, including a delay when Lolita Grayson had to undergo surgery to remove breast implants. (“Her nip-and-tuck may help her duck her day in court,” went the lead on a New York Daily News story.)
A deal was struck, then fell apart. “Gold diggers gotta dig. That’s all I gotta say,” Grayson said last month. “We had an agreement. She’s trying to renege.”
Which brings us to the present.
The amended petition from Lolita Grayson seeks a number of things, including child support, insurance and for Alan Grayson’s assets to be frozen until the case is resolved.
“Over the course of the parties’ 29 year relationship, which included their 24 year putative marriage, the parties have accumulated and enormous fortune,” it reads. It goes on to say, “The petitioner is in imminent fear of irreparable harm if the respondent is not stopped or enjoyed from selling, transferring, covering, encumbering and/or dissipating assets to which the petitioner has a claim to.”
Grayson’s legal team is in the process of asking the court to strike the complaint, arguing it is frivolous, in part became there is no legal basis in Florida for a palimony claim. The same language was in the original petition but was never filed as a motion.
Grayson is looking at the Senate race, opened up by Marco Rubio’s decision to run for president. Democratic Rep. Patrick Murphy of Jupiter has been in since March 23 and and has drawn support from top party elected officials and is raising a lot of money. Grayson, who's more fire breathing than Florida’s last fire-breathing liberal, thinks Florida voters want a stronger voice than a string of recent under-performing Democrats.
Grayson has used his wealth in past elections but he has become a national fundraising powerhouse.
For a free consultation, please do not hesitate to call the experienced family law and divorce attorneys at Maya Murphy, P.C. in Westport, CT at 203-221-3100. We may also be reached for inquiries by email at JMaya@mayalaw.com.
Source: ABA Journal
