<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face=" Arial, Verdana, Helvetica">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by dianalynn9864:
I was in a major car accident in April 98. I severely injured my back and the sciatic nerve is permanently damaged. I have had two surgeries on the back in the interim, an anterior lumbar fusion and a revision lamanectamy. I am going to be receiving a large settlement from this accident. My ex- husband and I were living together at the time of the accident. I left him eleven months after the accident. He also has a lawsuit against the people who hit me. We live in Pennsylvania. I am on permanent disability and Social Security. I will need all this money to support my daughter for the next three years and live off of the rest of my life. My question is will he be entitled to any of the monies I receive? We haven't been together in seventeen months. I filed for divorce in October of '99. He is playing games and hasn't signed. He thinks that if we are still legally married when the case settles he will be entitled to half. My understanding is that anything received by either party after the date I left him, March 12, 1999, is non marital assetts. Who is correct? Thank you for time and assisted with my questions. Any clarification you can give me will be much apprecciated.
Sincerely,
Diana L. Egleston<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
My response:
Any property traceable to proceeds received in satisfaction of a judgment or settlement for "personal injury damages" is properly allocable to the injured spouse. Absent an express agreement, the only time proceeds from a personal injury award lose their character as "community estate personal injury damages" is when the proceeds have been so commingled with other community property that the sources cannot be traced.
So, the only exceptions to this rule is:
1. If the money is commingled with funds belonging to both you and husband. So, open and maintain a separate set of accounts SOLEY for the settlement money.
2. Your husband shares settlement money that is in settlement of "loss of earnings" or "earning capacity" for you, only. He gets to keep any settlement money he obtains for his "loss of consortium".
But, the bulk of the money is yours, and yours alone. The same would be true for gifts meant only for you; e.g., Christmas diamond rings, clothes, birthday gifts, etc.; and bequests from a Will. These are all separate monies, and not subject to attack.
Now, aren't you glad you came here and asked?
IAAL
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[This message has been edited by I AM ALWAYS LIABLE (edited August 26, 2000).]