As noted in previous posts, soon after the May 25th killing of George Floyd, Derek Chauvin’s wife, Kelle Chauvin, filed a divorce petition in Stillwater (Washington County), Minnesota where they lived and last November the local judge rejected the couple’s proposed financial settlement after noting “The court has a duty to ensure that marriage dissolution agreements are fair and equitable” and “One badge of fraud is a party’s transfer of substantially all of his or her assets.”[1]
Last week the couple filed a public version of their divorce agreement which would award Derek Chauvin $ 420,768 while his wife would receive $703,718.[2]
A Minnesota divorce attorney who is not involved in this case, Jack DeWalt, observed, “Overall, this division continues the underlying concern of the divorce being utilized as a vehicle to shift assets out of Mr. Chauvin’s name as a means to protect the underlying assets from civil litigation [related to the death of Mr. Floyd], and thereby using the dissolution process to preserve assets rather than to effectuate a full and fair settlement in a divorce.”
The couple also face state criminal felony charges in that state court for failure to report $464,433 in joint income dating back to 2014.
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[1] Derek Chauvin’s Wife’s Divorce Petition Raises Questions, dwkcommentaries.com (July 8, 2020); State Court Rejects Chauvin Divorce Settlement, dwkcommentaries.com (Nov. 20, 2020).
[2] Xiong, Derek Chauvin’s estranged wife would receive most of their assets in proposed divorce settlement, Star Tribune (Jan. 19, 2021); Xiong, Judge orders Derek and Kellie Chauvin to file public documents in divorce case, StarTribune (Jan. 13, 2021).
Reading about their divorce agreement, I wondered about attorney’s fees, not for the divorce (Mr. Chauvin doesn’t even have a lawyer for that!), but for the two major and separate felony prosecutions Chauvin is facing (murder and tax evasion). How are those lawyers being paid? Do they have a security interest in any of the property. Shouldn’t that be disclosed in the divorce papers?
Comment: Court Approves Redacted Chauvin Divorce Agreement
On February 2, the Washington County District Court in Minnesota approved a heavily redacted divorce agreement between Derek and Kellie Chauvin. The order stated, “”Both parties have freely entered into this Agreement,” which “was executed free from any duress, coercion, collusion or undue influence. In some instances, the Agreement represents a compromise of contested issues.” The wife plans to legally change her name”due to [her] . . . safety being put in jeopardy.”
Xiong, Judge approves Derek Chauvin divorce under secret terms, StarTribune (Feb. 4, 2021), https://www.startribune.com/judge-approves-derek-chauvin-divorce-under-secret-terms/600018970/.