Divorce,Lawyer,Post-Divorce,Di law Divorce Lawyer: Post-Divorce Disability Payments in Louisian
When you work with an attorney, you will have no problem reducing the risks associated with getting your case in front of a judge and jury, or other formal court, when you need to. However, every case is different. It is important to work wi Bankruptcy is a situation, wherein an individual is termed as unable to discharge all the debts. When a person or a company is not able to pay off its creditors, it has an obligation to file a bankruptcy suit. In fact, a bankruptcy suit is a
After a marital breakup, a trial court must divide thecommunity property assets. Pensions orretirement plans can be a difficult asset to divide even for an experienceddivorce lawyer. Do not let your formerspouse bully you into a settlement on disability payments. Educate and enlighten yourself on the law.Retirement plans have often been the topic of hotlycontested legal battles; a divorce lawyer can work on a case for a long timebefore reaching a conclusion, in extreme cases. In Louisiana, the Supreme Court hasdistinguished payments received under a retirement plan due to disability frompayments received under a retirement plan due to reaching retirement age. When a spouse receives retirement payments dueto disability, the payments are paid in lieu of income that would otherwise bethe employees separate property. Assuch, retirement benefits paid to a spouse because of disability are notcommunity property. In a case called Brick v. Brick, the wife appealed thejudgment of the trial court ruling that her former husbands disability incomeafter the end of his marriage was his separate property. However, the trial court ruled that once hereaches retirement age, the retirement payment becomes community property. He appealed this portion of the trial courtsruling. Because the law is complicatedeven for an experienced divorce lawyer, it is sometime important to go to ahigher court to get clarification.The court found that the former husbands paymentssubstituted for income that would have been his separate property. Therefore, the disability payment is hisseparate property. Next, the appellatecourt turned to the former husbands claim asserting that the payments shouldbe classified as his separate property for his entire life.The appellate court quoted some law school professors. After reviewing the evidence and consideringthe professors comments in a book occasionally used by a divorce lawyer, theappellate court found that the former husbands payments become communityproperty once he reaches retirement age. Therefore, the trial courts ruling wasaffirmed on both claims.So what can a divorce lawyer learn from this ruling? If youget disability through your employment after youve ended your marriage, thenyour disability payments are your separate property. However, once you reachretirement age, your payments will be classified as community propertyregardless of how your pension fund classifies payment.Thisarticle is simply informational -- not legal advice. Will Beaumonts law office is in New Orleans,La.
Divorce,Lawyer,Post-Divorce,Di