Legal Question in Family Law in West Virginia
Is spouse intitled to any monies recieved from injury suite?
I know WV is an equal distribution state. Therefore, if an injury suite was filed due to an accident while my spouse and I were still married: Would he be entitled to any of the monies from that suite if a devorce should occur before the settlement of that suite was finale. I was the injured party, but his name also appears on the injury suite.
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: Is spouse intitled to any monies recieved from injury suite?
The general rule in any common law property state, as West Virginia is, is that a spouse's claim for pain and suffering is a non-marital asset and thus not subject to division by a domestic relations court. However, any funds you receive for lost wages or property damage is subject to division; be sure that if you settle your claim, the ENTIRE amount of the funds going to you is for pain and suffering, therefor nonmarital and not taxable.
Your husband is named in the suit probably for a loss of consortium, or marital "services", claim. Because you are getting divorced, I doubt his claim has any value.
Be sure and ask your divorce lawyer your question, and have him check your state's domestic relations law to verify what I have told you.
Good luck.
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