Rhode Island Divorce Lawyers | Affordable RI Divorce Lawyer Christopher A. Pearsall

RI Pre-Marital Assets - Your Divorce, Your Assets . . . or Are they?

In a Rhode Island Divorce proceeding, you do not have the luxury of claiming any asset is "pre-marital" and then doing whatever you want to with it.  

Until your RI Divorce Judge determines that an asset is "pre-marital", you must presume that it falls within the power of the Rhode Island Family Court.

While you can certainly take the position that an asset is "pre-marital" in your divorce proceeding, it is not within your power to determine that an item is, in fact, "pre-marital" so that you can do whatever you like with the asset.  

In fact, taking an asset and disposing of it at you see fit, especially without at least giving 50% of the value of the asset to your spouse, is likely to lead to a Motion for Willful Contempt for taking action in violation of the Automatic Orders of the Court.  

Automatic Orders of the Court apply to every divorce proceeding and violation of those Orders is punishable by numerous remedies the Rhode Island Family Court Judge may avail himself or herself of, including but not limited to, incarceration at the Adult Correctional Institution, sanctions, fines, attorney's fees awards etc. . .

Remember, each "pre-marital asset" should be considered separately and a good Rhode Island Divorce Coach / Lawyer will help you identify whether or not an asset is likely to be considered (1) entirely pre-marital, (2) partially pre-marital, or (3) not pre-marital at all because its character changed from pre-marital to marital during the course of the marriage.

Though an asset in a divorce may change character in a multitude of ways, consider the following example.

For example, Jill owns a house and its property prior to the marriage. During her marriage to Tim, Jill adds Tim's name to the deed.  Though Jill may still argue that the house and property are still a pre-marital asset, or the value of them before she married Tim is pre-marital, her argument should fail because she changed the character of the property from "hers" to "theirs."  By adding Tim's name to the deed Jill actively and intentionally changed the house and its property from "pre-marital" to "marital."

Remember that In any Rhode Island divorce, the divorce lawyers make arguments for their clients.  You have the power to make the same arguments for yourself, if you understand the arguments that you have available to you.

Do you know what arguments are available to you regarding your assets?  A Rhode Island Divorce Coaching Session may help you get a better grasp on holding on to your assets.  If you represent yourself, it may give you just the edge you need.

Authored By:

Christopher A. Pearsall, Attorney-at-Law

Rhode Island's Full-Time Divorce* Lawyer is Now
Rhode Island's Only Divorce and Family Law Coach!!

Discover the Tremendous Benefits You Receive by 

Participating in Family Law Coaching Sessions!

Visit the RhodeIslandDivorceCoach.com

Call (401) 632-6976 Now
to
Schedule Your Low-Cost Rhode Island Divorce* or Family Law* Coaching Session!

Experience the Difference!

Copyright 2007 to Present.  Christopher A. Pearsall, Esquire
 Offering Rhode Island Rhode Island Divorce and Family Law Coaching for a New Millenium!

* The Rhode Island Supreme Court licenses all attorneys in the general practice of law.  The court does not license or certify any lawyer as an expert or specialist in any particular field of practice.

- - Recommended Websites - -

Pearsall.net | AttorneyPearsall.com | Rhode Island Divorce Tips | ChristopherPearsall.com | GuaranteedWealth.com | Rhode Island Divorce Attorney | Rhode Island Divorce Lawyer | ChrisPearsall.com | LegalScholar.com | Pearsall-Law-Associates.com | Rhode Island Divorce Attorneys | Rhode Island Divorce Lawyers | Rhode Island Divorce Coach  |  RI Divorce Coach | RI Divorce Lawyer on Twitter | Rhode Island Divorce Coach on Twitter | Rhode Island Divorce Lawyer on Facebook.com| Attorney Chris Pearsall at LawGuru.com | Rhode Island Family Law Lawyer - RI Consumer Tips

RI Family Lawyers and Contempt Motions

In my opinion, family lawyers in Rhode Island need to do two things for the benefit of their clients. 

First, a good family lawyer needs to distinguish between technical contempt and willful contempt.  The two are fairly easily to distinguish.

Willful contempt occurs when admissible evidence can be proven before the family court judge demonstrating that a party knew of a court order and despite the ability to comply with that order chose not to do so or opted to do something that the party felt was in his or her own best interests or the best interests of his or her family despite an order to the contrary.

Technical contempt occurs when the evidence presented to the court proves that a party subject to an order of the court does not comply with that order because he or she does not have the means or the power to comply with the courts order. 

It is the nature of the non-compliance that designates what type of contempt it is.  Does  the person have the ability to comply with the Order or not?  If the person has the ability to comply with the Family Court Order but does not do so then the contempt is likely to be found to be willful.  If the person accused of the contempt did not have the ability to comply with the order as a result of circumstances outside his or her control then the Order should normally be one of technical contempt.

The distinction is more than nominal.  The distinction is often very significant as is the manner in which your Rhode Island Attorney deals with it.  In most cases, clients will not know, understand or appreciate the distinction between these types of contempt and how they may be viewed by the court.;

In cases of willful contempt, the court is more likely to award attorneys' fees to the prevailing party if in the court's discretion such an award is warranted.  In cases of technical contempt, awards of attorneys' fees are rare.  In some instances if it appears clear to the judge that the party pressing the contempt motion was aware it was a technical contempt, the judge may be upset with counsel for wasting the court's time or may be upset with the attorney's client if it becomes clear from the evidence presented that the party pressed this motion knowing it was merely a technical violation and did not create a risk of harm that the Order was designed to protect.

In most cases I believe it appropriate to identify for the client the pros and the cons of proceeding with a motion for contempt when it may be seen by the court as purely technical.  Insistent clients who try to force their counsel to proceed on a matter that may damage the client's credibility with the court and perhaps damage their attorney's reputation for the remainder of the case are best read the riot act and the consequences clearly explained to them.  An outright refusal of an attorney to proceed under such circumstances is understandable and justified, though many attorneys will not do so for risk of losing the client's business.

In the end, despite the good judgment of counsel, sometimes clients need to give direction to their counsel, have their day in court, and take their lumps before they catch on to the fact that their attorney may know best what to do in a particular situation as a result of his or her experience and expertise.

Authored By:

  Christopher A. Pearsall
Money Making Entrepreneur and Attorney-at-Law
70 Dogwood Drive, Suite 304
West Warwick, RI 02893

Call (401) 632-6976 Now for your low-cost consultation.
from
Rhode Island's Most Affordable Divorce & Family Law* Attorney
now
100% Digital and Virtual!

Copyright 2008.  Christopher A. Pearsall, Internet Entrepreneur and Attorney-at-Law

*The Rhode Island Supreme Court licenses all attorneys in the general practice of law.
Pearsall.net | AttorneyPearsall.com | Rhode Island Divorce Tips | ChristopherPearsall.com | GuaranteedWealth.com | Rhode Island Divorce Attorney | Rhode Island Divorce Lawyer | Chris Pearsall
| Legal Scholar | Pearsall Law Associates | Rhode Island Divorce Attorneys | Rhode Island Divorce Lawyers | TheModernMom.com| WholesaleQuiltBatting.com | Mesothelioma-Cancer-Articles.com