Legal Question in Family Law in Arizona

I got a divorce settlement of some money and got remarried again. She had a cadillac brought into the marriage and I paid off the balance she owed.She had me sell it I put the money away in my safe separatly. I had almost the amount of money the car sold for into it $3500 With cash from the divorce settlement I bought a car for myself with separate cash not commingled with the money from her car that was in the safe. The money from her sold car is still in the safe. Is this money i bought the car with community fund?


Asked on 5/05/12, 6:44 am

1 Answer from Attorneys
Joyce Johnson-Stovall Johnson Stovall and Associates PLLC

Separate property remains separate property even after marriage, if it is not co-mingled with community property (or you can trace it even if co-mingled). Paying off her cadillac would probably be treated as a gift, unless of course you loaned her the money and have a promissory note for the loan. Property acquired during marriage is presumptively community property, unless you can prove that the property was purchased with separate assets. If you had separate money (cash received from a divorce settlement) and you purchased a vehicle with that cash while remarried... you have the burden of proving that the purchase was made with separate assets... changing the money into a car does not necessary change the character of the asset... in this case, the car.... of course, if you titled the car in both of your names, one could argue that you made a gift of the car purchased with separate assets to the marital community.

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Answered on 5/05/12, 8:16 am


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