BY: MARK SWEET, ESQ.
Divorce is all too common today, however Frank and Jaime McCourt, the owners of the Los Angeles Dodgers, are headed to court to figure out who owns what. Traditionally, states fall into one of two statutes regarding married persons property, either community property states in which all of the property is split equally between the spouses (absent an agreement), or common law states in which the property is distributed based on the equity or overall fairness. These different divisions can lead to very different distributions of assets between the spouses.
California Divorce Laws
In California, the assets are distributed based on community property. However, it is important to note that these are the default rules. Many people have either prenuptial agreements or premarital agreements. These agreements can dictate who gets what during a divorce. Additionally, in some states, you may be able to trace your personal property back to completely personal accounts before the marriage and the court could decide that it should not be split.
In the McCourt divorce, we have one of the most storied franchises in sports history, several mansions, a house just for dirty laundry (and no that’s not a euphemism for anything else, it is literally a house where the dirty laundry for the team is kept which coincidentally has a large pool), and exorbitant salaries for both McCourts. Complicating the matter, there is not only a plethora of he-said-she-said arguments, but a Marital Property Agreement that would give Frank full control of the Dodgers, but one that Jaime claims was changed after signing. This Marital Property Agreement was signed long after Frank and Jaime married, but before they purchased the Dodgers. These types of agreements are allowed in most states because a marriage is a contract and those terms can be changed so long as both parties agree.
Splitting of Assets
While many of us wish that we had problems like how to divide our palatial estates, the divorce comes down to an issue that many people who are getting divorce face, how do we split up the assets? For most people, their largest asset is their home, but how can you split the house in half? Now think about how would you split assets that involve a major sports franchise in half? You can’t simply cut a team or house in half; instead it would most likely need to be sold. This is the realty most couples who are divorcing face, they either need to sell the property in order to equally split the property, or the court can award one spouse the house, and an equal amount of property to the other spouse.
Who should win? Is this a good thing for Dodger fans? Should people be allowed to change how their assets are distributed after a marriage ends? Tell us what you think!
