Derek Chauvin's wife Kellie demands both of their homes as part of divorce settlement after forgoing alimony
Disgraced former Minneapolis officer Derek Chauvin's wife could walk away with the couple's two homes if he doesn't contest her request to obtain them as part of their divorce settlement. According to a number of veteran family law attorneys, divvying up marital assets is a complicated process and therefore it is too early to determine whether Kellie Chauvin is asking for more than half the couple's assets.
Kellie filed for divorce just two days after her husband was charged with second- and third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter in the Memorial Day killing of George Floyd, an unarmed black man who died after Chauvin kneeled on his neck for nearly eight minutes despite his repeated pleas that he couldn't breathe.
On May 31, less than a week after Floyd's death, 45-year-old Kellie Chauvin filed for divorce in Washington County District Court. A number of family law attorneys have said it's too soon to draw conclusions about her request, but some are speculating whether her demand for both the properties is a ploy to protect the assets from a lawsuit.
“Homes are only one part of a marital estate, and without understanding what the other person is being awarded outside of the homes, [the divorce petition] is not actually telling you whether this person is asking for more than 50 percent,” Jack De Walt, an 18-year family law attorney and adjunct professor at Mitchell Hamline School of Law, told the Star Tribune. 44-year-old Derek Chauvin, who had 30 days to file an answer and counter-petition to challenge any of his wife's proposals, hadn't responded until Friday, which was the deadline. A petitioner can wait 55 days and ask a judge to proceed by default if there is no answer and counter-petition filed by the 30-day deadline, thereby obtaining what was requested. But former realtor Kellie Chauvin, who was unemployed when she filed the petition, reportedly requested a “fair and equitable division of personal property, vehicles, and all bank, retirement, and investment accounts," according to the Tribune. "She neither sought nor offered alimony payments."
As part of her petition, Kellie has asked for sole ownership of the couple's primary residence in Oakdale as well as a townhouse in Windermere, Florida. Both properties were purchased after they married in 2010 and are currently listed in both of their names. According to Washington County property records, the Chauvins bought the Oakdale house for $260,000 in 2017. It is currently valued at $273,800. Meanwhile, the Florida townhouse was purchased for $210,900 in 2011. Last year, it was valued at $226,282.
State law compels a judge to divvy-up assets acquired during a marriage as equitably as possible, family law attorneys told The Tribune, adding that a judge wouldn't let one spouse walk away with too much. “On its face, if it doesn’t appear to be just and equitable the court has the discretion to say, ‘I’m not going to do this,’” veteran family law attorney Marc Beyer told the outlet. “If you ask for more than half or all of the assets, you’re not going to get that in most cases.”
Derek Chauvin and three other former officers involved in Floyd's arrest will next appear in court on September 11.