Evan Weinstein was published in the Family Law special section of the New Jersey Law Journal on July 18, 2019 in an analysis article entitled “The Appellate Division Divides a Negative” about the issue of “negative equity” in the distribution of marital assets. Evan discussed the Appellate Division’s recent unreported decision in Flockhart v. Flockhart, which applied the term “negative equity” to the distributable value of property where the mortgage or other liability on the property exceeds the appraised equity. The amount of the shortfall from the appraised equity is the amount of negative equity in the property.

In Flockhart, the Appellate Division held that the parties had accumulated negative equity in a timeshare, the appraised value of the timeshare being less than the value of the existing mortgage. The Appellate Division reasoned that equitable distribution is not just the division of the assets of the parties; it is the division of their liabilities, as well. The overall fairness of an equitable distribution scheme must be viewed within the totality of the total award to determine if the mandate of a fair and just division of marital property has been achieved.

You can contact Evan at Weinstein, Lindemann & Weinstein directly at 973-403-6000.