Perquisites, usually called perks, are benefits an employer gives to an executive or employee over and above salary or wages. Perks can be valuable and may significantly enhance the lifestyle of the executive and their family members. Perks may be classified as...
Property Division
Enforceability of premarital agreements in divorce: When does unfairness become unconscionable injustice?
Recently, the Connecticut Supreme Court issued a ruling in Grabe v. Hokin that elaborates on unconscionability as a basis for finding a prenuptial agreement unenforceable between divorce litigants. Connecticut law gives judges the power to decline to enforce a...
Information disclosure duties of divorcing litigants in Connecticut
We start with a simplified explanation of what happens to property and debt when someone files for divorce. First, imagine at the time of filing a snapshot of all assets and liabilities of the parties whether joint or personal to one of them. Second, Connecticut law...
Role of timing and relationship status in marital asset dissipation claims
When a Connecticut court equitably divides marital property between divorcing spouses, a potential issue for dispute may involve whether either of the litigants wrongfully dissipated marital assets. For example, did one of them take an expensive vacation or give large...
Curate the evidence: Issues of fine art in Connecticut property division
In divorce, a Connecticut court has wide discretion to assign value to assets the judge will allocate to one or the other divorcing spouse. Obviously, a piece of art does not have a precise, universally accepted value like an account or a share of stock. When...
Impact of nonmonetary spousal contributions in a Connecticut divorce
In a Connecticut divorce, there is no simple formula for dividing assets. The courts are not tasked with merely adding up total assets and dividing by two in a clear-cut mathematical operation. Connecticut law gives judges broad discretion when dividing assets between...
Connecticut courts’ approach to unvested stock options in divorce
The Connecticut statute that governs equitable property division in divorce does not define “property,” which has left it to our courts to do so on a case-by-case basis. CT Gen. Stat § 46b-81. Basically, before the judge can craft a fair property division, they must...
When should forensic accounting be part of my divorce?
While the decision to end the marriage might be straightforward, negotiating the division of the assets can be more complex. Asset division becomes even more complicated when one or both spouses have money or assets the other spouse does not know about. During these...
Are any of my assets ‘safe’ in a Connecticut divorce?
While divorce can be a tense and difficult time, the added challenge of asset division may seem daunting. Often the idea of arguing through lawyers over alimony and assets is enough for some couples to delay a much-needed divorce. Although some of your assets may...
A valuable trust can highlight the complexities of property division
The substantial worth of a trust often makes these complex legal and fiduciary arrangements highly valued during divorce. Here in Connecticut, beneficiaries may believe the trust in question is safeguarded from property division. That belief may often prove erroneous....