Cobb Judge Awards Woman $950,000 in Divorce Case
Cobb Judge Awards Woman $950,000 in Divorce Case
Joan Gore said she was the good woman behind a successful man. Now she has the court decision to prove it. Going into their divorce trial in February, Mrs. Gore's estranged husband, James William Gore, had made a settlement offer of $250,000, according to Mrs. Gore's attorney, Stephen Land. When the dust settled and the ink dried on the divorce papers last week, Mrs. Gore, 56, wound up with about $950,000 in cash, furnishings and other goods.
"I think it's an acknowledgment of the value of a wife"
By Jill Vejnoska STAFF WRITER (Atlanta Constitution)
Joan Gore said she was the good woman behind a successful man. Now she has the court decision to prove it.
Going into their divorce trial in February, Mrs. Gore's estranged husband, James William Gore, had made a settlement offer of $250,000, according to Mrs. Gore's attorney, Stephen Land.
When the dust settled and the ink dried on the divorce papers last week, Mrs. Gore, 56, wound up with about $950,000 in cash, furnishings and other goods.
Mr. Land said Cobb Superior Court Judge Michael Stoddard suggested that in placing Mr. Gore's net worth at approximately $2.8 million, the 59-year-old businessman may have underestimated one asset: his wife.
"I'm finding that Mrs. Gore had substantial value as a corporate wife," Mr. Land said.
Mr. Gore and his attorney, C. Wilbur Warner, Jr., and Judge Stoddard all declined to comment. Mrs. Gore, who recently moved to Birmingham to be near her grown children from a previous marriage, did not return several phone calls.
Alabama was the setting for the couple's wedding nearly 14 years ago, and it was while working there for an outdoor advertising company that Mr. Gore made the initial investment that later helped him amass his fortune, according to court documents.
In the months before the couple's marriage, Mr. Gore bought 10,000 shares of stock in the company, which was sold in 1984. Mr. Gore's before-tax payoff for his share of the company, according to the court papers: $1.9 million, which he parlayed into more money.
In asking Judge Stoddard to declare certain bank accounts, stock investments and businesses subject to non-equitable division, Mr. Gore argued in court papers that all of his current assets were "acquired directly with the proceeds from the sale of [his] premarital assets."
Not quite, said Mr. Land, who argued that Mr. Gore had borrowed money to buy part of the stock. "During the marriage, the debt was paid off and almost $3 million worth of assets accumulated," said a brief filed for Mrs. Gore.
But that's not even the point, according to Mr. Land, who argued that by helping Mr. Gore raise his teenage son and serve as a "tireless and gracious hostess" to his clients and partners, Mrs. Gore assisted him in developing his business.
"I think it's an acknowledgment of the value of a wife who helps the husband by doing what the parties agreed that she should do as a corporate wife, Mr. Land said last week. A woman who's older and who stayed home during the marriage is never going to approximate her husband's earning power.
