Sometimes in divorce cases, spouses feel that they have been defrauded by the other spouse. Sometimes that feeling is justified. They wonder whether they can make a claim for fraud in their divorce case. The case of Cramer v. Cramer looked specifically at this issue.
While the Cramers were married, they lived in a marital home and Ms. Cramer paid Mr. Cramer $1,300/month for the mortgage. What she didn’t know was that Mr. Cramer’s mother in fact owned the property and there was no mortgage. Instead, Mr. Cramer took the money his wife gave him and gave it to his mother. Ms. Cramer was not aware of this until after the divorce was filed. In her initial papers filed with the Court, Ms. Cramer did not allege fraud because she did not know that Mr. Cramer was doing this. However, once she found out about it, she let Mr. Cramer know that she intended to press her claim for fraud in the divorce case. Mr. Cramer claimed that it was too late because she did not allege fraud in her complaint.
The Court determined what Ms. Cramer did was sufficient. Mr. Cramer was aware of the fraud claim against him even if he wasn’t formally notified of it in the complaint. Therefore, the Court was correct in entering a judgment against Mr. Cramer for fraud. The issue with this case was that this claim for fraud was not properly put in the complaint. Because of that this case dragged on with time consuming and expensive appeals.
It is important that you have an experienced attorney representing you when filing these cases, so that these kind of issues can be avoided. Baltimore divorce lawyers at Huesman, Jones & Miles, LLC can investigate the facts and circumstances for you and advise you of your rights and remedies. Call our experienced divorce lawyers in Hunt Valley today at 443-589-0150 or fill out the online contact form for a free consultation.
