As a general proposition, damage awards you’ve won in personal injury actions are separate property that are not subject to distribution in your divorce.
This is a well accepted rule in Queens divorces, and reflects the awareness that those funds may be intended to pay for future medical costs or earmarked for past medical expenditures related to an injury.
If the award is old and the proceeds were mingled in a joint account, your spouse may try to claim that the separate asset converted to a marital one.
Whether such an action succeeds has to do with the specific details, and your attorney.
An experienced Queens divorce attorney can help protect what’s yours when you and your spouse split up.
Call Zelenitz, Shapiro & D’Agostino today at 718-523-1111 for a free consultation with an experienced Queens divorce lawyer.
