Archive for December, 2008
Trust Principal Not Included in Marital Estate
Trust Principal Not Included in Marital Estate – In the same case, see above, the husband was the beneficiary of a certain trust. The Appeals Court upheld the Probate Court judgment that the trust was not part of the marital estate because the husband “does not have a present, enforceable right to use the principal ...
Continue ReadingPremarital Asset Not Divided
Premarital Asset Not Divided– In a case involving a 16 year marriage, the Appeals Court upheld a Probate Court judgment that awarded an equal division of assets but permitted the husband to retain a premarital gift worth $600,000 on the date of their marriage (but not the appreciation of that asset which the court divided ...
Continue ReadingRight to Trust Income Waived by Agreement
Right to Trust Income Waived by Agreement– The parties entered into a separation agreement that included a surviving provision in which the wife waived the right to seek future modifications of alimony to the extent that they are based on distributions that the husband may receive from a particular trust. In the wife’s subsequent modification ...
Continue ReadingGifts from Parents as Income for Support
Gifts from Parents as Income for Support – A Probate Court judge, in refusing to reduce a father’s child support obligation, noted that he receives substantial cash gifts from his parents. The Appeals Court, affirming the judgment, expressly did not reach the question of whether such gifts may be considered in determining support. Interestingly, the ...
Continue ReadingMarriage Inheritance
Late in Marriage Inheritance – In the same case as above, the wife sought to overturn the Probate Court finding that allowed the husband to keep an inheritance he received from his mother in November 2002. The Appeals Court affirmed the decision which turned on the finding that the marital partnership dissolved prior to the ...
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