McGuire v. McGuire | |
---|---|
Court | Nebraska Supreme Court |
Full case name | Lydia McGuire, appellee, v. Charles W. McGuire, appellant. |
Decided | June 26, 1953 |
Citation | 59 N.W.2d 336; 157 Neb. 226 |
Court membership | |
Judges sitting | Robert G. Simmons, Edward F. Carter, Frederick Messmore, John W. Yeager, E. B. Chappell, Adolph E. Wenke, P. E. Boslaugh |
Case opinions | |
Decision by | Messmore |
Dissent | Yeager |
McGuire v. McGuire, 157 Neb. 226, 59 N.W.2d 336 (1953) was a Nebraska Supreme Court case between plaintiff Lydia McGuire and defendant-appellant husband Charles McGuire. The case involved the scope of legally providing for a spouse in a marriage. This case helped to determine a precedence for financial responsibilities of one spouse for another. [1] [2]
Lydia McGuire was previously married to another man from whom she inherited a large stake in property upon termination of the marriage. She then entered into a marriage with Charles McGuire while still holding the property stake in her name. On this property she raised chickens and had a small income from this operation. She used the proceeds from this business, along with rent she received, to pay for groceries, personal items, and trips to see her daughters. She then required a number of surgeries which her husband paid for, but disabled her from receiving the same income on her property. She was therefore unable to spend this income on personal items and trips. [1] [2]
In her marriage to McGuire, she was unhappy and believed she had not been properly provided for. She stated that McGuire, known to be a frugal man, gave her very little money and financial support to live on and provided only the bare minimum. Their house was not equipped with any items that she desired. She never filed for divorce but felt that he owed her significant financial duty and therefore brought the case to a civil court in Nebraska. The court believed Charles McGuire had failed to provide financial care for his wife and awarded Mrs. McGuire significant financial sum. Mr. McGuire felt this judgement was incorrect and unlawful and appealed. [1] [2]
The district court questioned whether or not Mr. McGuire had financially abandoned his wife by not providing her further funds to substitute her losses she used on personal expenses. The court held that in the time the complaint was made she was living under the same roof as her husband. Since there was never a separation or a divorce, it would be difficult to determine that a husband should provide payments to a wife. [1] [2]
The court ruled that as long as a couple are living together, and not in any way legally separated or divorced, and the home in which they live is maintained, a husband is considered to be providing for his wife. [3] The courts can not interfere in this regard and require a specific monetary level of support. Therefore the district court reversed the trial courts ruling and did not require Mr. McGuire to make financial payments. [1] [2]
This established the precedent in marriage contracts that when a spouse provides for another, it does not require them to make direct payments to the other. Legally providing for them can be fully fulfilled simply by maintaining the home and the basic expenses, not funds used for personal expenses. [1] [2]
Lydia and Charles McGuire remained married and lived together for thirty-three years despite the ruling. [1] [2]
New York divorce law changed on August 15, 2010, when Governor David Paterson signed no-fault divorce into law in New York state. Until 2010, New York recognized divorces only upon fault-based criteria or upon separation. The State Senate approved the No-Fault Divorce bill on June 30, and the State Assembly passed the bill on July 1.
A will and testament is a legal document that expresses a person's (testator) wishes as to how their property (estate) is to be distributed after their death and as to which person (executor) is to manage the property until its final distribution. For the distribution (devolution) of property not determined by a will, see inheritance and intestacy.
Alimony, also called aliment (Scotland), maintenance, spousal support and spouse maintenance (Australia), is a legal obligation on a person to provide financial support to their spouse before or after marital separation or divorce. The obligation arises from the divorce law or family law of each country. In most jurisdictions, it is distinct from child support, where, after divorce, one parent is required to contribute to the support of their children by paying money to the child's other parent or guardian.
A wife is a woman in a marital relationship. A woman who has separated from her partner continues to be a wife until their marriage is legally dissolved with a divorce judgment; or until death, depending on the kind of marriage. On the death of her partner, a wife is referred to as a widow. The rights and obligations of a wife to her partner and her status in the community and law vary between cultures and have varied over time.
Child support is an ongoing, periodic payment made by a parent for the financial benefit of a child following the end of a marriage or other similar relationship. Child maintenance is paid directly or indirectly by an obligor to an obligee for the care and support of children of a relationship that has been terminated, or in some cases never existed. Often the obligor is a non-custodial parent. The obligee is typically a custodial parent, a caregiver, or a guardian.
A prenuptial agreement, antenuptial agreement, or premarital agreement, is a written contract entered into by a couple before marriage or a civil union that enables them to select and control many of the legal rights they acquire upon marrying, and what happens when their marriage ends by death or divorce. Couples enter into a written prenuptial agreement to supersede many of the default marital laws that would otherwise apply in the event of divorce, such as the laws that govern the division of property, retirement benefits, savings, and the right to seek alimony with agreed-upon terms that provide certainty and clarify their marital rights. A premarital agreement may also contain waivers of a surviving spouse's right to claim an elective share of the estate of the deceased spouse.
Division of property, also known as equitable distribution, is a judicial division of property rights and obligations between spouses during divorce. It may be done by agreement, through a property settlement, or by judicial decree.
According to the United States Government Accountability Office (GAO), there are 1,138 statutory provisions in which marital status is a factor in determining benefits, rights, and privileges. These rights were a key issue in the debate over federal recognition of same-sex marriage. Under the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), the federal government was prohibited from recognizing same-sex couples who were lawfully married under the laws of their state. The conflict between this definition and the Due Process Clause of the Fifth Amendment to the Constitution led the U.S. Supreme Court to rule DOMA unconstitutional on June 26, 2013, in the case of United States v. Windsor. DOMA was finally repealed and replaced by the Respect for Marriage Act on December 13, 2022, which retains the same statutory provisions as DOMA and extends them to interracial and same-sex married couples.
In Islam, a mahr is the bride wealth obligation, in the form of money, possessions or teaching of verses from the Quran by the groom, to the bride in connection with an Islamic wedding. While the mahr is often money, it can also be anything agreed upon by the bride such as jewelry, home goods, furniture, a dwelling or some land. Mahr is typically specified in the marriage contract signed upon marriage.
Divorce according to Islamic law can occur in a variety of forms, some initiated by a husband and some by a wife. The main categories of Islamic customary law are talaq (repudiation), khulʿ and faskh. Historically, the rules of divorce were governed by sharia, as interpreted by traditional Islamic jurisprudence, though they differed depending on the legal school, and historical practices sometimes diverged from legal theory.
Balfour v Balfour [1919] 2 KB 571 is a leading English contract law case. It held that there is a rebuttable presumption against an intention to create a legally enforceable agreement when the agreement is domestic in nature.
Dower is a provision accorded traditionally by a husband or his family, to a wife for her support should she become widowed. It was settled on the bride by agreement at the time of the wedding, or as provided by law.
Australian family law is principally found in the federal Family Law Act 1975 and the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia Rules 2021 as well as in other laws and the common law and laws of equity, which affect the family and the relationship between those people, including when those relationships end. Most family law is practised in the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia and the Family Court of Western Australia. Australia recognises marriages entered into overseas as well as divorces obtained overseas if they were effected in accordance with the laws of that country. Australian marriage and "matrimonial causes" are recognised by sections 51(xxi) and (xxii) of the Constitution of Australia and internationally by marriage law and conventions, such as the Hague Convention on Marriages (1978).
White v White is an English family law decision by the House of Lords, and a landmark case in redistribution of finances as well as property on divorce. This case involved a couple with assets exceeding £4.5m which was deemed more than either needs for their reasonable requirements. It was held that the absence of financial need did not mean departing from a more generous settlement for an applicant in big money cases. This, therefore, enables the courts to make settlements reflecting the wealth of the parties, and not just their needs and requirements.
United States v. Gotcher, 401 F.2d 118, is a tax case from the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.
In the United States, marriage and divorce fall under the jurisdiction of state governments, not the federal government.
Divorce law in Sweden concerns the dissolution of marriage, child support, alimony, custody and the division of property. Divorce restores the status of married people to individuals, leaving them free to remarry. The divorce laws in Sweden are known to be considerably liberal compared to other jurisdictions.
The Custom of Paris was one of France's regional custumals of civil law. It was the law of the land in Paris and the surrounding region in the 16th–18th centuries and was applied to French overseas colonies, including New France. First written in 1507 and revised in 1580 and 1605, the Custom of Paris was a compilation and systematization of Renaissance-era customary law. Divided into 16 sections, it contained 362 articles concerning family and inheritance, property, and debt recovery. It was the main source of law in New France from the earliest settlement, but other provincial customs were sometimes invoked in the early period.
Military divorce is a specific type of divorce that arises when one or both partners are members of the military. Although typically an uncontested divorce, military divorces are different because they require additional requirements to be fulfilled. Divorces occur less frequently than within the civilian population. They present a special set of challenges that make military divorces more complicated than a typical divorce. For example, The Federal Service Members Civil Relief Act of 2003Archived 2013-04-15 at the Wayback Machine requires any person seeking a divorce to state that their spouse is or is not currently a member of the United States armed forces. This is meant to prevent spouses from seeking divorces from service members who would be unable to attend divorce proceedings.
Under a community property regime, depending on the jurisdiction, property owned by one spouse before marriage, and gifts and inheritances received during marriage, are treated as that spouse's separate property in the event of divorce. All other property acquired during the marriage is treated as community property and is subject to division between the spouses in the event of divorce. The United States has nine community property states: Arizona, California, Idaho, Louisiana, Nevada, New Mexico, Texas, Washington, and Wisconsin. Four other states have adopted optional community property systems. Alaska allows spouses to create community property by entering into a community property agreement or by creating a community property trust. In 2010, Tennessee adopted a law similar to Alaska's and allows residents and non-residents to opt into community property through a community property trust. More recently, Kentucky adopted an optional community property system in 2020, allowing residents and non-residents to establish community property trusts. Finally, Florida adopted a similar law in 2021, allowing citizens and noncitizens to establish community property trusts.
Text of McGuire v. McGuire is available from: CourtListener Justia Leagle