When marriages break up, some couples are able to take legal steps in constructive and non-acrimonious ways. Others will seek mediation services in an effort to keep things positive and come to a mutually acceptable resolution. Others wind up in bitter divorce battles, sometimes with millions of dollars at stake. That is what is happening in a case that has drawn the attention of observers in Illinois and other states.
In the case, a multimillionaire finance professional is accused of misleading his ex-wife, while the divorce process was ongoing, about the value of their assets. In particular, she says that he misled her with regard to the value of an investment he had made in the amount of $8.7 million. The investment, from the 1980s, was in cooperative apartment conversions based in Queens, New York.
The wife says she learned after the divorce that her ex-husband had received $5.5 million from a settlement on the investment and had not told her. Correspondingly, she accused him of fraud. Their settlement had disclaimed the assertion that the ex-husband had made any representation of that particular investment’s value. However, a judge recently ruled that the ex-wife apparently believed the ex-husband’s alleged statement that the investment had been lost. On that basis, the judge denied the ex-husband’s motion to dismiss the claim of fraud made by his ex-wife.
This case shows how complex divorce can get, especially when substantial material assets are at stake. Qualified attorneys can be of tremendous benefit to all parties in such cases, helping everyone involved to secure what they are entitled to. Anyone in Illinois who is contemplating divorce may wish to consult with an attorney with a background in this area.
Source: USA Today, “Steven Cohen divorce battle continues” Kevin McCoy, Jan. 27, 2014
