Dissipation typically requires expenditure for a purpose unrelated to the marriage at a time when the marriage was undergoing irretrievable breakdown. Gambling losses, gifts to a paramour, and concealment are common examples.
The claiming spouse must identify the expenditures.
Alternative Names:
Marital Waste|Dissipation Claim
Why it Matters?
Timing is the limiting element, since expenditures before the breakdown began are ordinary marital spending regardless of how imprudent, which requires establishing when the marriage began failing rather than when the petition was filed. Identifying specific transactions rather than asserting a general pattern is required, and forensic accounting of account activity is the necessary work in substantial claims.
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Frequently asked questions
What is the limiting element?
What proof is required?
