Wednesday, January 14, 2009
Kidney as marital asset?
In a case from NY that sounds like an examination question, the legal issue might be expressed as whether a kidney is a marital asset.
According to the BBC,
He said he had not only given his heart to his wife, Dawnell, but donated his kidney to save her life.
But divorce lawyers say a donated organ is not a marital asset to be divided.
Dr Batista married Dawnell in 1990 and donated the kidney to her in 2001. She filed for divorce in 2005 and a settlement has still not been reached.
CBS has some videos here, as well as an analysis of how valuable the kidney might be (she had other relatives who might have donated a kidney). More coverage (local) by Newsday here, which will be the site to watch for updates.
RR
http://lawprofessors.typepad.com/family_law/2009/01/kidney-as-marit.html