Common Examples of Dissipation of Marital Assets in the State of Maryland

Published on
August 19, 2024
Written by
Angel Murphy, Esq
Category
Divorce

Basics of Dissipation of Assets in Maryland Law

Dissipation of assets doesn’t occur in every marital dissolution in Maryland, but it is something which is far from unheard of. Dissipation of assets can be defined thusly: when one spouse uses marital funds without the approval of the other spouse, and the spouse using those funds either knows about an upcoming divorce, or has a reasonable basis to believe that there will be an upcoming divorce, that spouse may be committing dissipation of assets. Whenever a spouse engages in this sort of behavior, the court has the power to rectify the situation by implementing one of various remedies. In the future, we may come back and discuss those potential remedies in detail. For now, we will simply say that the court has the authority to correct this situation, provided that the other spouse is able to substantiate the dissipation.

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Let’s look at several examples of dissipation of assets so readers can get a better sense of what this looks like in practical terms.

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Example #1: Dissipation by Hiding Assets

One common form of dissipation of assets occurs when one spouse “hides” or transfers assets without the approval of the other spouse. The offending spouse may try to claim that the missing funds have simply “disappeared.” This can often be a nightmare for the other spouse, because in some cases pinpointing these funds can be very difficult. Today, with online banking, creative accounting methods, and other tools, those who are determined to make funds disappear can often do so while covering their tracks quite well.

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Example #2: Dissipation by Selfish Spending

This type of dissipation is very common. Often, when one spouse learns about an upcoming divorce, or suspects a divorce may be imminent, that spouse will engage in “selfish spending” by treating himself or herself to marital funds in various ways. Frequently, this selfish spending takes the form of using marital funds on an extramarital affair. It’s also not uncommon for spouses to take solo vacations, or buy expensive consumables which don’t benefit the other spouse at all.

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Example #3: Dissipation by Reckless Investments

Another example of dissipation of assets happens when one spouse uses marital funds to invest in highly questionable business ventures, or other vehicles which have a very low probability of success. If a spouse recklessly throws money away on a new cryptocurrency, or a restaurant in a crime-ridden neighborhood, or any other low probability investment, this may qualify as dissipation of assets, and the innocent spouse may be able to recover his or her share of the funds.

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Example #4: Dissipation by Gifts

This is also quite common: after one spouse learns of the upcoming divorce, that spouse begins to give away large chunks of the marital estate in the form of “gifts” to friends or relatives. The dissipating spouse is obviously hiding his or her true motives, because the dissipating spouse wants to deprive the other spouse of marital funds, but camouflages this motive in the form of gifts. Spouses aren’t supposed to make unusual gifts as soon as divorce is imminent. If the other spouse can prove these unusual gifts, then dissipation of assets will be found.

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Contact the Murphy Law Firm for More Information

If you would like more information on dissipation of assets, or on property division in general, or any other related matter, give one of the family law attorneys at the Murphy Law Firm a call today at 240-219-5243.

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Angel Murphy

Personable. Passionate. Persistent.

maryland law | dissipation of assets | marital funds | divorce proceedings | hiding assets | selfish spending | reckless investments | unusual gifts | court remedies | financial misconduct | asset concealment | marital estate | divorce law | legal remedies | family law

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