There is a long line of case law that has established pets as personal property. Courts have ruled that pets are personal property in various cases. These include cases involving pet loss in accidents. Other cases involve pets potentially “inheriting” their owner’s...
As the saying goes, one’s home is one’s castle. During a divorce, one’s home is also often the most valuable piece of property that is up for division. But, in what circumstances are real estate experts, like an appraiser, necessary in the divorce process? The...
Gene and Gerri are in the middle of a contentious divorce case. Gerri knows Gene bought valuable stocks using money from their joint bank accounts during their marriage. The portfolio is in Gene's name. Gerri wants to know if she can ask the Court to transfer some...
Massachusetts has long adopted the equitable distribution approach to property division in divorce. Equitable distribution is the most popular approach in the United States, with a primary focus on achieving "equity" or fairness. How fairness is determined, however,...
Is a trust interest part of the marital estate? The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court recently answered this question in Pfannenstiehl v. Pfannenstiehl. In this important case, the court concluded that the distribution of a trust as "marital property" depends on...