Claims for Reimbursement
By October 16, 2024 Posted in Divorce Tagged in Divorce Share
3.402. Claim for Reimbursement; Offsets
Effective: September 1, 2023
(a) A claim for reimbursement exists when one or both spouses use property of one marital estate to confer on the property of another marital estate a benefit which, if not repaid, would result in unjust enrichment to the benefited estate.
(b) A spouse seeking reimbursement to a marital estate must prove:
(1) that the spouse or both spouses used property of the marital estate to confer a benefit on the property of another marital estate;
(2) the value of the benefit described by Subdivision (1); and
(3) that unjust enrichment of the benefited estate will occur if the benefited estate is not required to reimburse the conferring estate.
(c) For purposes of this subchapter, the property of a marital estate confers a benefit on another marital estate's property if:
(1) one or both spouses used property of the conferring estate to pay a debt, liability, or expense that in equity and good conscience should have been paid from the benefited estate's property;
(2) one or both spouses used property of the conferring estate to make improvements on the benefited estate's real property, and the improvements resulted in an enhancement in the value of the benefited estate's real property; or
(3) one or both spouses used time, toil, talent, or effort to enhance the value of property of a spouse's separate estate beyond that which was reasonably necessary to manage and preserve the spouse's separate property, and for which the community marital estate did not receive adequate compensation.
(d) For purposes of this subchapter, the value of the benefit conferred by the property of one marital estate on the property of another marital estate is determined as of the date of the trial's commencement and:
(1) if the benefit resulted from the use of the conferring estate's property to pay a debt, liability, or expense that in equity and good conscience should have been paid from the benefited estate's property, then the value of the benefit conferred is measured by the amount of the debt, liability, or expense paid by the conferring estate;
(2) if the benefit resulted from the use of the conferring estate's property to make improvements on the benefited estate's real property, then the value of the benefit conferred is measured by the enhancement in the value of the benefited estate's real property that resulted from the improvements; or
(3) if the benefit resulted from the use of time, toil, talent, or effort to enhance the value of property of a spouse's separate estate, then the value of the benefit conferred is measured by the value of the time, toil, talent, or effort beyond that which was reasonably necessary to manage and preserve the spouse's separate property.
(e) The determination of whether unjust enrichment will occur if one marital estate is not required to reimburse another marital estate is a question for the court to decide.
(f) The court shall resolve a claim for reimbursement by using equitable principles, including the principle that claims for reimbursement may be offset against each other if the court determines it to be appropriate.
(g) A claim for reimbursement of a marital estate by one spouse may be offset by the value of any related benefit that the other spouse proves that the conferring estate received from the benefited estate, including:
(1) the value of the use and enjoyment of the property by the conferring estate, except that the separate marital estate of a spouse may not claim an offset for use and enjoyment of a primary or secondary residence owned wholly or partly by the separate marital estate against contributions made by the community marital estate to the separate marital estate;
(2) income received by the conferring estate from the property of the benefited estate; or
(3) any reduction in the amount of any income tax obligation of the conferring estate by virtue of the conferring estate claiming tax-deductible items relating to the property of the benefited estate, such as depreciation, interest, taxes, maintenance, or other deductible payments.
(h) The party seeking an offset to a claim for reimbursement has the burden of proof with respect to the offset.