Can a gift be part of the marital property in the event of a divorce?
Full Question:
My husband and I are heading for a divorce due to reconcilable differences. We have been living in the Flint for over 3 years now. On my birthday two years ago, his father had bought me a car as a gift. Now that we are getting a divorce, he is planning to claim the car for himself, saying that the car was supposed to be a gift to the both of us. The car is the only mode of transportation available for me to commute back and forth from work. Can he legally claim the car for himself?
11/16/2016 |
Category: Divorce ยป Property Set... |
State: Michigan |
#26813
Answer:
Chapter 552 of the Michigan Compiled Laws Service deals with the legal provisions pertaining to divorce. MCLS § 552.401 section 1 states the following which clearly shows all assets shall be fairly and equitably divided amongst the spouses in the event of a divorce:
“The circuit court of this state may include in any decree of divorce or of separate maintenance entered in the circuit court appropriate provisions awarding to a party all or a portion of the property, either real or personal, owned by his or her spouse, as appears to the court to be equitable under all the circumstances of the case, if it appears from the evidence in the case that the party contributed to the acquisition, improvement, or accumulation of the property. The decree, upon becoming final, shall have the same force and effect as a quitclaim deed of the real estate, if any, or a bill of sale of the personal property, if any, given by the party's spouse to the party.”
The above provision lays down the basis for the distinction between marital property and separate property. For a property to be termed marital property, it has to be one that was acquired by the spouses by contributing to the “acquisition, improvement, or accumulation of the property.” Separate property involves assets that a party owned before the marriage, gifts or inheritances, assets received after separation or filing, or assets or appreciation traceable to those items. Therefore, it is safe to infer that a gift received from a third party would be separate property and would not be distributed unless the spouse claiming the asset can prove the requirement laid out in MCLS § 552.401 section 1.
