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May-December romance cools down and divorce heats up

On Behalf of | Sep 20, 2017 | High Asset Divorce

It’s a May-December romance where the romance is clearly over — and the younger bride is now claiming that her older groom shouldn’t be allowed to divorce her or handle his own affairs because of dementia.

She’d also like to be granted stewardship of his considerable finances, which is bringing out accusations that she is clearly a “gold digger” that cares more about her husband’s bank account than she does her husband.

The whole situation has a spotlight on it because the couple is prominent in Florida politics. The husband was a career politician who eventually retired from his last position as clerk of courts.

At that point, his much younger wife used his political career as a launching pad for her own — and ended up stepping into the position he once held despite a total lack of prior experience or qualifying education. Her only prior experience with the position came while she worked in the office her future husband ran for two years prior to their marriage. Now, she’s in control of a $37 million dollar budget.

Only married for four years, her husband decided to file for divorce shortly after his wife took over his old position. In return, she asked the judge to make her her spouse’s temporary guardian — alleging that he’s not in his right mind any longer and shouldn’t be allowed to control his own person or property. She alleges that he may have Alzheimer’s.

His attorneys say that she’s merely trying to get her hands on his pension, Social Security and nearly a million dollars of savings he has through Florida’s retirement system. They believe she’s trying to delay the divorce in order to obtain more of his assets while also misappropriating his funds.

Her husband has since moved in with relatives and says that he’s unconcerned with the court case, believing that the court will find in his favor. He admits to making some financial mistakes recently, saying that he thinks his age allowed him to be easily exploited — but says he is far from having dementia and that his wife has been aggressive and threatening toward him.

Situations like this show how quickly high-asset marriages can dissolve into disaster — and why it’s important to get an attorney on your side as soon as possible.

Source: Sun Sentinel, “Court to decide in Forman divorce: guardian or gold digger?,” Megan O’Matz, Sep. 01, 2017