In a Wisconsin marital dissolution case, COVID-19 negatively impacted the husband’s hair salon business, which had to shut down for a while. This happened two months after the couple’s divorce was granted. In Wisconsin, assets are normally valued as of the date of divorce, but the court may deviate from the general rule due to special circumstances. The husband argued that the COVID-19 pandemic presented special circumstances for using an alternative date. The circuit court disagreed, saying, “There has to be some finality for all the parties in this.” The husband appealed, but the appellate court agreed that the circuit court’s reliance on finality was rational, noting that the divorce had been pending for two and a half years.

The case is In re Marriage of Gill, 2023 Wisc. App. LEXIS 917, and a case analysis and full court opinion are on the BVLaw platform.