Fitzgerald v. Fitzgerald

914 So. 2d 193 (Miss. Ct. App. 2005)

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Fitzgerald v. Fitzgerald

Mississippi Court of Appeals
914 So. 2d 193 (Miss. Ct. App. 2005)

Facts

When Michael Fitzgerald (defendant) married his second wife, Phyllis Fitzgerald (plaintiff), Michael and his first wife owed $100,000 in back taxes to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). During their marriage, Michael and Phyllis borrowed $64,274 from a bank to pay off that premarital IRS debt. When Phyllis and Michael subsequently divorced, the trial court deemed the bank debt to be a marital debt, meaning a debt for which both Phyllis and Michael were responsible. The court then allocated the debt to Phyllis when making an equitable distribution of the spouses’ marital property and debts. Phyllis appealed, arguing that the bank debt was a nonmarital debt for which only Michael was responsible and that the debt therefore should have been allocated fully to Michael without factoring into the equitable distribution of marital property.

Rule of Law

Issue

Holding and Reasoning (Griffis, J.)

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