A Georgia court divides property on the values the evidence proves, so a spouse who cannot prove an asset’s worth can lose a share of it.
The Spouse Asking Has to Prove It
In Barber v. Barber, 257 Ga. 488 (1987), the Georgia Supreme Court approved a jury charge that “the party claiming a right, including property division, has the burden of proof to establish that right.” If both spouses fail, “neither is entitled to equitable division, and their ownership of property remains as it existed before trial.”
Prove the Value on the Right Dates
An asset one spouse brought to the marriage can still have a marital share, from growth that either spouse’s efforts produced or from marital money put into it, as our posts on marital property and the source-of-funds rule explain. Measuring growth takes two values. In Sullivan v. Sullivan, 295 Ga. 24 (2014), the Supreme Court held that the spouse seeking a share of that growth “has the burden to establish the interest’s true market value at the time of marriage and at the time of divorce.”
The wife’s expert valued the husband’s company shares at $780,000 at trial, but nothing showed their market value when the couple married. Finding no evidence of that value, or that either spouse’s efforts caused the growth, the trial court awarded the husband all the shares, and the Supreme Court affirmed.
Who Can Put a Number on It
You can value your own property, as our post on owner testimony explains, and so can others. In Wilson v. Wilson, 277 Ga. 801 (2004), reversing on another ground, the Supreme Court directed that on retrial a licensed real estate agent’s opinion of a commercial property’s value not be excluded because he was not a licensed appraiser.
Agreed numbers bind you. In Highsmith v. Highsmith, 289 Ga. 841 (2011), the spouses agreed to use the county tax office’s values for their real estate, and the wife could not challenge them on appeal.
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This post is a quick overview of the law and is not intended as legal advice. Please feel free to contact our office for a consultation if you have questions about this or any other legal aspects regarding your case!