Derr v. Derr
Wisconsin Court of Appeals
289 Wis. 2d 681, 696 N.W.2d 170 (2005)
- Written by Meredith Hamilton Alley, JD
Facts
Michael Derr (plaintiff) and Martha Derr (defendant) married in 1990. Michael’s parents gave him an apartment building in 1994. In 1999, Michael and Martha borrowed $300,000 in a mortgage equity loan, using the apartment building as collateral. Michael and Martha used the loan proceeds for the benefit of the marriage, were each liable for the payments, and made the loan payments with marital funds. Michael and Martha filed jointly for divorce. The trial court found, among other things, that the apartment building was Michael’s non-divisible property and that the remaining mortgage debt of $282,935 was Michael’s non-divisible debt. It was unclear whether the categorization of the debt affected the distribution of the community property. Michael appealed, arguing, among other things, that the mortgage debt was divisible because the debt was incurred to benefit the marriage.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Lundsten, J.)
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