10/17/2014

Love Affairs and Breakups

By Dirk Schwenk, Bay Law LLC

It's Boat Show season in Annapolis and elsewhere, the time when great love affairs are started with beautiful boats, and the precursor to the time that those great loves do sometimes unravel into messy contests about ownership and money. 

The Love Affair
Sane people of a certain age and experience have their attorney read their prenuptial agreement.  Boat deals are can be similar - love is blinding.  But have it reviewed, it will be money well spent.  As attorneys we are trained to read language to be sure that it says what is intended, and we are also trained to worry about the possible bumps in the road.  We are much less expensive if you hire us to avoid a problem than if you wait until the deal is in flames.  

I try to abide by two rules of contract: capture what is agreed to in writing (without getting bogged down in a thousand less important details) and if in doubt, be reasonable.  You can read more on contracts in my post Basic Contract Law - Contracts 101.

The Breakup
What happens if you own something important -- like a farm or a house -- jointly with someone else, and one party wants to sell the property and the other doesn't?  Perhaps one owner falls on hard times and can't afford the taxes, or they want to take the money and buy a boat?  If the property is land, an owner can file an action for Partition.  That action seeks a court order requiring a property to be divided equally or sold if it cannot be divided.  Since I have had a steady stream of cases lately, I did a post on partition of real property.  There is a similar cause of action that can be used for boats and ships where there is federal jurisdiction -- a Rule D Partition Action.  Unlike partition of real property, Rule D Partition is more useful if there is a dispute about who owns the boat or ships.  

If you have a deal that starts to break apart, the sooner you can begin to work strategically with counsel, the more likely you are to achieve your hoped-for result. If you need a quick review, just give me a call or send a text or email: Dirk Schwenk, dschwenk@baylawllc.com, 410 775 6805 (text or voice).

Mr. Schwenk is a member of the Maryland Bar and bar of the Federal Court for the District of Maryland.  He is a Certified Marine Investigator through the International Association of Marine Investigators, a member of the Mid-Atlantic Mariners Club, Marine Trades Association of Maryland and the Severn Sailing Association, where he sails J-24s and Jet-14s with his wife Stefanie. He is a past President of the Jet 14 Class Association, and the 6 time Chesapeake High Point champion in that class.