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ASK
CASSIE
I am in the process of going through a divorce. During
our marriage, we deferred making certain repairs to our home. Now
that we are divorcing, can I make those repairs? -J.L.
The short answer is – it depends on the facts of your case.
During the period of time that a divorce is pending (meaning,
the parties have not yet settled their case nor have they yet had a trial
in front of a judge to decide the issues in their case), the court will generally
seek to maintain the nancial status quo of the parties. In other
words, what the parties did before, during their marriage, is generally
what they should both continue to do during the pendency of the case.
Moreover, the court will generally seek to preserve and protect the assets
of the parties, so as to avoid a depletion or diminishment of the
assets as much as possible pending the outcome of the case.
Thus, if the parties made a decision during their marriage to defer
discretionary capital improvements to their home, it is likely that a
court would not prioritize or authorize this kind of expenditure during
the divorce case.
That principle is contrasted to necessary repairs and maintenance
that cannot be deferred, such as the replacement of a roof that is leaking
or an air conditioner that is broken.
Similarly, if the parties did typically spend funds on capital improvements
during the marriage and have the funds to continue to do
so, there is more of an argument that capital improvements should be
made during the course of the divorce case.
Of course, the parties can always agree, by consent, to implement
repairs and/or capital improvements to the home during their divorce
case, as they see t.
If you are dealing with the issue of payment of bills, including
capital improvements and repairs, during your divorce case, you
should seek the advice of matrimonial counsel.
Have a divorce and family law
question for Cassie? Submit your
question to admin@paonezaleski.
com for consideration in the next
edition of “Ask Cassie.”
Cassie Murphy is a divorce and
family law partner with the law
Woodbridge.
HOME IMPROVEMENT GUIDE 2020 TheJournalNJ.com | APRIL 2020 63
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