Chapter 24 - THE DIVORCE RULINGJudge Ward’s final ruling took sixty-three pages.
No cheering.
No one got everything.
The house was marital property.
I received it subject to refinancing and an offset against other assets because stability and the overall distribution supported that structure.
The Volvo stayed with me.
Jason retained the Range Rover through Briarstone subject to valuation adjustments.
Briarstone remained with Jason.
That surprised people.
I did not want to run it with him attached.
A neutral valuation placed the marital component of the company’s appreciation and retained value at a substantial amount.
Because an immediate lump-sum payment could damage the company and employees, the court ordered a structured equalization payment secured by specified assets and subject to safeguards.
The court also found portions of Jason’s expenditures on Madison-related personal benefits constituted dissipation and adjusted the property division accordingly.
Not every invoice.
The proven ones.
Judge Ward made credibility findings regarding the burn evidence but carefully stated she was not determining criminal guilt.
Different case.
Different burden.
She rejected Jason’s claim that I had fabricated abuse solely to obtain property.
She also criticized my unilateral $42,000 withdrawal and ordered final accounting adjustments.
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I accepted that.
Justice did not require me to be flawless.
