Legal Question in Family Law in Mississippi

Re: divorce/medical claim settlement

In Tramel v. Tramel, 740 So.2d 286 (Miss.1999)the chancellor awarded the wife forty percent of the proceeds from a personal injury settlement the husband received as a result of an on-the-job accident. The husband appealed and argued that the chancellor erred in finding the entire proceeds of the settlement were marital assets subject to equitable distribution. The Supreme Court concluded that on remand an "analytical approach" should be taken to determine how to classify a settlement for the purpose of distribution in a divorce proceeding. The analytical approach involves an "evaluation of the purpose of the compensation in the determination of the character of the award or settlement as marital or personal." According to the analytical approach, pain and suffering is considered personal to the injured person, lost wages and medical expenses incurred during the marriage is marital, but compensation for future economic losses is not marital.