TN - Gail Nowacki Palmgren, 44, Signal Mountain, 30 April 2011 - #9

[Oriah]

Matt could probably go to court and have a judge decide how much of Gail's retirement account is marital assets - likely half - and get that amount released to him by taking the court order to the bank.

I'd imagine that Matt also has a retirement account, so it would likely be pretty much a wash - each having about the same amount in their retirement accounts, and after the 50% marital asset split, he would just keep everything in his own retirement account.

Example:

Gail's retirement account contains $400,00

Matt's retirement account contains $400,000

Each gets 50% - $200,000 - from each account for a total of $400,000 each.

Each just keeps what's already in their accounts.


That's just for illustrative purposes. IIRC, Matt's attorneys said in court that about $300k or maybe it was $320k was marital assets. Perhaps the other $80k to $100k was Gail's prior to their marriage, so would be 100% hers.

I'd found and posted the laws for divvying up the property and assets in TN a while back. In TN, basically, $$$ and property you bring into the marriage, along with inheritances received during the marriage, and gifts received during the marriage are 100% yours. Your earnings during the marriage, which would include your retirement account, property purchased during the marriage, etc, are a 50/50 split.

Here's the TN code:

http://www.tennessee.gov/tccy/tnchild/36/36-4-121.htm

ETA: Here's the index to all the Tennessee laws on marriage, divorce, kids, etc:
http://www.tennessee.gov/tccy/tnchild/t36/t_36.htm

Thanks, BeanE. But I am seriously confused by all of this.

Am I missing filings prior to Gail's disappearance??

I am going to rename myself confused#2, LOL.

 

[BeanE]

Thanks, BeanE. But I am seriously confused by all of this.

Am I missing filings prior to Gail's disappearance??

I am going to rename myself confused#2, LOL.

To my knowledge there were no separation or divorce filings prior to Gail's disappearance, but numerous reports of intent to separate/divorce on both Matt's and Gail's parts.

I'm assuming Matt, and Gail if she's still out there, still want a separation/divorce, but perhaps not.

You seem to know of laws that, if a spouse disappears, and there were no separation/divorce/custody filings beforehand, that there can be no filings afterward in regards to care of the children, custody, finances, property, etc? If so, I haven't come across that yet, but there are a ton of laws in the index I linked to above. Can you point me to it?

TIA

 

[BeanE]

In reading about the laws regarding missing persons, I came across this, which is interesting, and would apply to more than one of the cases we have on WS. Unfortunately, there is no link to the individual state's laws that are applicable. Nevertheless, it's interesting.

Legal Death and Missing Persons

There is a legal presumption that an individual is alive until proved dead. In attempting to determine whether a person has died after having been missing for a certain period of time, the law assumes that the person is alive until a reason exists to believe otherwise.

The common-law rule is that where evidence indicates that the absent person was subject to a particular peril, he or she will be legally presumed dead after seven years unless the dis-appearance can be otherwise explained. The seven-year interval may be shortened if the state decides to enact legislation to change it. Some states may permit the dissolution of a marriage or the administration of an estate based on a mysterious disappearance that endures for less than seven years. A majority of states will not make the assumption that a missing person is dead unless it is reasonable to assume that the person would return if still alive.

A special problem emerges in a situation where a person disappears following a threat made on his or her life. Such an individual would have a valid reason for voluntarily leaving and concealing his or her identity. Conversely, however, the person would in fact be dead if the plot succeeded. A court would have to examine carefully the facts of a particular case of this nature.

In some states, the court will not hold that an individual has died without proof that an earnest search was made for him or her. During such a search, public records must be consulted, wherever the person might have resided, for information regarding marriage, death, payment of taxes, or application for government benefits. The investigation must also include questioning of the missing person's friends or relatives as to his or her whereabouts.

http://legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/Death+and+Dying

 

[Sleuthy1]

Without a death certificate and beneficiary status, he would have to have a power of attorney to access her retirement funds.

He claims to have POA. Claims he did when he had all utilities turned off at the "A" frame next door to AD in early June (I believe that time frame was). Since the property was in Gail's name alone...he may have had to show POA to get the utilities shut off. My best guess anyway. Also, he seems to have accessed Gail personal Facebook page a couple hours ago and made changes to it...obviously without her approval. He has also deleted AD as a listed friend (to himself)...no shocker there....that is his perrogative to remove AD as a listed friend to himself. I personally am surprised it took him that long to do it. My guess is that he wanted to see what AD was posting on her Wall and the only way he could do it was to allow her as his friend and visa versa. IMO:twocents:

 

[Oriah]

Respectfully, from the above LexisNexus link, BeanE -

<Simplified or Special Divorce Procedures
If the divorce is based on irreconcilable differences, the spouses may enter into a notarized marital settlement agreement. The agreement must:
(1) make specific reference to a pending divorce by the name of the court and the docket number or
(2) state that the respondent is aware that a divorce will be filed for in the state of Tennessee and
(3) state that the respondent waives service of process and waives filing an answer. The waiver of service will be valid for 120 days after the respondent signs the agreement and will constitute a general appearance by the respondent and give the court personal jurisdiction over the respondent and will constitute a default judgment.
The petition for divorce must have been on file for over 60 days before a hearing will be held if the spouses have no minor children and 90 days if they have any minor children. The spouses must make adequate and sufficient provisions in their marital settlement agreement for the care and custody of any minor children and for an adequate settlement of their property. The spouses may also make provisions in their settlement for alimony. A final decree may be entered without any corroborating proof or testimony by the petitioner or respondent. If the respondent contests or denies that there are irreconcilable differences, a divorce may NOT be granted on those grounds, unless there is a valid marital settlement agreement. Some counties may require the respondent to sign any appearance and waiver form before the court clerk for it to be valid. In addition, in any petition for divorce, the wife's maiden name must be stated and the race and color of each spouse must be stated. Financial affidavits may also be required.
Tennessee Grounds for Divorce
Grounds for a No-Fault divorce:
(1) Irreconcilable differences
(2) living separate and apart without cohabitation for 2 years with no minor children

Grounds for a Fault based divorce:
(1) impotence
(2) adultery
(3) conviction of a felony and imprisonment
(4) alcoholism and/or drug addiction
(5) wife is pregnant by another at the time of marriage without husband's knowledge
(6) willful desertion for 1 year
(7) bigamy
(8) endangering the life of the spouse
(9) conviction of an infamous crime
(10) refusing to move to Tennessee with a spouse and willfully absenting oneself from a new residence for 2 years
(11) cruel and inhuman treatment or unsafe and improper marital conduct
(12) indignities that make the spouse's life intolerable
(13) abandonment, neglect, or banning the spouse from the home.>

I need an attorney to weigh in here, because I am certainly not one!

 

[BeanE]

Respectfully, from the above LexisNexus link, BeanE -

<Simplified or Special Divorce Procedures
If the divorce is based on irreconcilable differences, the spouses may enter into a notarized marital settlement agreement. The agreement must:
(1) make specific reference to a pending divorce by the name of the court and the docket number or
(2) state that the respondent is aware that a divorce will be filed for in the state of Tennessee and
(3) state that the respondent waives service of process and waives filing an answer. The waiver of service will be valid for 120 days after the respondent signs the agreement and will constitute a general appearance by the respondent and give the court personal jurisdiction over the respondent and will constitute a default judgment.
The petition for divorce must have been on file for over 60 days before a hearing will be held if the spouses have no minor children and 90 days if they have any minor children. The spouses must make adequate and sufficient provisions in their marital settlement agreement for the care and custody of any minor children and for an adequate settlement of their property. The spouses may also make provisions in their settlement for alimony. A final decree may be entered without any corroborating proof or testimony by the petitioner or respondent. If the respondent contests or denies that there are irreconcilable differences, a divorce may NOT be granted on those grounds, unless there is a valid marital settlement agreement. Some counties may require the respondent to sign any appearance and waiver form before the court clerk for it to be valid. In addition, in any petition for divorce, the wife's maiden name must be stated and the race and color of each spouse must be stated. Financial affidavits may also be required.
Tennessee Grounds for Divorce
Grounds for a No-Fault divorce:
(1) Irreconcilable differences
(2) living separate and apart without cohabitation for 2 years with no minor children

Grounds for a Fault based divorce:
(1) impotence
(2) adultery
(3) conviction of a felony and imprisonment
(4) alcoholism and/or drug addiction
(5) wife is pregnant by another at the time of marriage without husband's knowledge
(6) willful desertion for 1 year
(7) bigamy
(8) endangering the life of the spouse
(9) conviction of an infamous crime
(10) refusing to move to Tennessee with a spouse and willfully absenting oneself from a new residence for 2 years
(11) cruel and inhuman treatment or unsafe and improper marital conduct
(12) indignities that make the spouse's life intolerable
(13) abandonment, neglect, or banning the spouse from the home.>

I need an attorney to weigh in here, because I am certainly not one!

Okay, regarding what you bolded, he files for divorce and waits 90 days for a hearing.

An absent spouse is not an unusual situation. Happens all the time. The laws - as exemplified in your quote - accomodate that. I don't understand why you think you can't separate from and divorce and settle custody and finances with an absent spouse.

 

[BeanE]

He claims to have POA. Claims he did when he had all utilities turned off at the "A" frame next door to AD in early June (I believe that time frame was). Since the property was in Gail's name alone...he may have had to show POA to get the utilities shut off. My best guess anyway. :

Our utilities and cable and internet and everything are in my husband's name. Always have been. I'd say 90% of the time during our marriage, I've been the one arrange for power shut off and turned on when moving, changes in service, everything. Never once have I been asked for a POA.

Is that how it works for all of you who are married and the things you have in one name? You all have to have POAs or you can't do things because something is in the other spouse's name?

I've even done stuff with bank accounts - money transfers and stuff. Just showed my driver's license and no problems, no questions.

Maybe I'm just extraordinarily lucky or something that I can take care of business, and my husband can take care of business, without a hassle. Maybe we just have really good customer service at the businesses in our area lol.

 

[Sleuthy1]

BeanE ...have you made access to your timeline etc. Private? Is a Password needed for access to that information now? It seems that people are having difficulties accessing that information and it's not been a problem in the past. Wondering if you could shed some light on this. Thank you:waitasec:

 

[CatFancier]

He claims to have POA. Claims he did when he had all utilities turned off at the "A" frame next door to AD in early June (I believe that time frame was). Since the property was in Gail's name alone...he may have had to show POA to get the utilities shut off. My best guess anyway. Also, he seems to have accessed Gail personal Facebook page a couple hours ago and made changes to it...obviously without her approval. He has also deleted AD as a listed friend (to himself)...no shocker there....that is his perrogative to remove AD as a listed friend to himself. I personally am surprised it took him that long to do it. My guess is that he wanted to see what AD was posting on her Wall and the only way he could do it was to allow her as his friend and visa versa. IMO:twocents:

In Gail's absence, I would think a true POA would have to go before the courts, not sure. In the real world, they would go together to a notary and it would be done.

It would sure be a sad state of affairs if that's how easy it is to gain access to her retirement money if he didn't have appear somewhere.

 

[BeanE]

BeanE ...have you made access to your timeline etc. Private? Is a Password needed for access to that information now? It seems that people are having difficulties accessing that information and it's not been a problem in the past. Wondering if you could shed some light on this. Thank you:waitasec:

My whole website is offline right now. I have a lot of updates to do and I need to take my time with it because I haven't been feeling well. So I decided to take the whole thing offline until I get them done. I couldn't find a way to put up just a message without a whole huge hassle.

Is there some info I can find for you? I'd be happy to help. I'm really sorry to everybody for the inconvenience, but I just have to do it this way for now.

 

[Oriah]

Okay, regarding what you bolded, he files for divorce and waits 90 days for a hearing.

An absent spouse is not an unusual situation. Happens all the time. The laws - as exemplified in your quote - accomodate that. I don't understand why you think you can't separate from and divorce and settle custody and finances with an absent spouse.

Not trying to be argumentative, Bean.

I guess it just does not make sense to me that if I was gone for a few days or so - that my spouse would file for a RO and custody of our children without some sort of filing prior to that- that would indicate we intended to divorce- or had reason to fear for my or our childrens' well-being.
I mean...if there is no legal trail...then we only have personal accounts to go by that point toward the intention of divorce.

Let's say my spouse goes out of town to visit their family for a few days. After a few days of not hearing from them, I decide to file a RO as well as petition for (full?) custody of our children. My basis for filing these motions is that we were intending to divorce, and my spouse is crazy.

But all that is on file anywhere are domestic disturbance calls made to LE by my spouse.

I mean.... it truly does not make sense to me.
But again- I am certainly no attorney.

 

[BeanE]

In Gail's absence, I would think a true POA would have to go before the courts, not sure. In the real world, they would go together to a notary and it would be done.

It would sure be a sad state of affairs if that's how easy it is to gain access to her retirement money if he didn't have appear somewhere.

I would think with his prior income - more than $200,000 a year - of which he's entitled to half - as well as what's in his half of the rest of the marital assets - that he has plenty of $$$ in his half of everything that he doesn't need to use any of Gail's half.

I can certainly burn some money myself, but it would take me a while to go through half the amount Matt and Gail collectively have, before I got to Gail's half.

 

[CatFancier]

I would think with his prior income - more than $200,000 a year - of which he's entitled to half - as well as what's in his half of the rest of the marital assets - that he has plenty of $$$ in his half of everything that he doesn't need to use any of Gail's half.

I can certainly burn some money myself, but it would take me a while to go through half the amount Matt and Gail collectively have, before I got to Gail's half.

Agreed. This was all in response to a question on whether he has access to her retirement funds. No judgment here.

 

[BeanE]

Not trying to be argumentative, Bean.

I guess it just does not make sense to me that if I was gone for a few days or so - that my spouse would file for a RO and custody of our children without some sort of filing prior to that- that would indicate we intended to divorce- or had reason to fear for my or our childrens' well-being.
I mean...if there is no legal trail...then we only have personal accounts to go by that point toward the intention of divorce.

Let's say my spouse goes out of town to visit their family for a few days. After a few days of not hearing from them, I decide to file a RO as well as petition for (full?) custody of our children. My basis for filing these motions is that we were intending to divorce, and my spouse is crazy.

But all that is on file anywhere are domestic disturbance calls made to LE by my spouse.

I mean.... it truly does not make sense to me.
But again- I am certainly no attorney.

Personal accounts is what the bulk of domestic relations matters are based on. People swear to their personal accounts in their affidavits that are filed in support of their filings for separation, divorce, custody, ROs, etc. That's what makes the whole thing such a bear, and makes me very glad I don't work in the domestic relations courts lol.

I don't believe all the domestic disturbance calls were made by Gail. I believe the 4/29 solicitation of LE assistance was initiated by Matt by him going to the police station.

 

[Sleuthy1]

My whole website is offline right now. I have a lot of updates to do and I need to take my time with it because I haven't been feeling well. So I decided to take the whole thing offline until I get them done. I couldn't find a way to put up just a message without a whole huge hassle.

Is there some info I can find for you? I'd be happy to help. I'm really sorry to everybody for the inconvenience, but I just have to do it this way for now.

Nothing right now. Sorry to hear you're not feeling well...I can commiserate...empathize with you. Feel better soon.

 

[Oriah]

Personal accounts is what the bulk of domestic relations matters are based on. People swear to their personal accounts in their affidavits that are filed in support of their filings for separation, divorce, custody, ROs, etc. That's what makes the whole thing such a bear, and makes me very glad I don't work in the domestic relations courts lol.

I don't believe all the domestic disturbance calls were made by Gail. I believe the 4/29 solicitation of LE assistance was initiated by Matt by him going to the police station.

BBM: Me too!!!

Bean, is there a link for Matt going to the SMPD on the 29th? I have a bazillion notes and can't keep 'em straight!
TIA.

 

[Sleuthy1]

Personal accounts is what the bulk of domestic relations matters are based on. People swear to their personal accounts in their affidavits that are filed in support of their filings for separation, divorce, custody, ROs, etc. That's what makes the whole thing such a bear, and makes me very glad I don't work in the domestic relations courts lol.

I don't believe all the domestic disturbance calls were made by Gail. I believe the 4/29 solicitation of LE assistance was initiated by Matt by him going to the police station.

BBM

Just wondering how you came to the conclusion that it was Matt P that initiated the 911 call for assistance at the SM Police station on April 29th 2011? According to the police report ...there were 5 people (3 adults and 2 children at the SMPD when the 2 officers arrived on the call. The report states the following occurred:

On 29 April 2011 at approximately 12:16 Sgt. Foster and I (I cannot make out his signature from the report, but his Badge # is 128) were dispatched to a disorder at the Signal Mountain Police Department (the address was given Ridgeway Ave?). Matthew P ------, _____?_____ and Gail P ------- were in a verbal disagreement. No crimes were committed. Matthew P ---------- agreed to stay at 40 RidgeRock Dr. and to let Gail P-------- take there two children (_____?_____&____?_____) to there lake house in Alabama for the night. Gail was given phone numbers of a safe place to stay. End of statement.

Respectfully...It seems to me twocents:JMHO:waitasec that reading the above police statement(as written by the police officer responding) that he was dispatched to the Police Station to respond to a verbal disorder. To me ..it seems as though the call for an officer to respond was most likely made by someone at the police station not necessarily made by anyone involved in the "actual disorder". I could be wrong, as I was not there, but I see nothing that says Matt P made the call and the Police arrived at his request. Thoughts?

 

[fran]

I'd be really surprised if anything MP would file now, would give him power over any marital assets that included GP's 401K. The 401K's are handled very specifically and according to laws. Just because GP doesn't contest any divorce, (well, because she's missing!) that any court would automatically give the petitioner control over her hard-earned retirement account.

He's only entitled to 1/2 of it anyway, at the end of the day. Of course, then there is HIS 401K, which would be subject to being SPLIT as well. GP would be entitled to 1/2 of HIS.

I'm not a legal person, but it's what I surmise from general legal info I've seen on the internet.

JMHO
fran


http://www.401k.org/AboutPlans/GeneralInformation/401kandDivorce/tabid/66/Default.aspx
401(k) and Divorce

 

[BeanE]

Bean, is there a link for Matt going to the SMPD on the 29th?
TIA.

Just wondering how you came to the conclusion that it was Matt P that initiated the 911 call for assistance at the SM Police station on April 29th 2011?

It was posted on here, and discussed. I'm drawing a blank on who posted it or the timeframe it was posted, but I can try to find it if you like.

ETA: I found this, although this isn't the original discussion of it. I'm having a hard time finding it because there aren't really any uncommon key words to use to search for it.

07-13-2011, 03:52 PM happy409
I recall it was confirmed Matt went to the police station first, then Gail followed?

[ame="http://www.websleuths.com/forums/showpost.php?p=6901067&postcount=527"]Websleuths Crime Sleuthing Community - View Single Post - TN TN - Gail Nowacki Palmgren, 44, Signal Mountain, 30 April 2011 - #7[/ame]

 

[BeanE]

Let's say Matt filed for divorce today, and the hearing came along, and Gail's missing person investigation is in the same status as it is right now, what does the judge do? Does he appoint an attorney to represent her?

How about somebody hiring an attorney to act on her behalf, while Matt is her next of kin? Can someone who is not her next of kin hire an attorney to act on her behalf?

Do I need to put these questions in the legal thread? :floorlaugh: