When a divorce dispute centers on marital property division, the dispute can be difficult to resolve. Property division contests can become even more complicated when a large amount of assets are involved. One such dispute over the Major League Baseball Dodgers has been working its way through the court system, and this dispute will be up in the air until the spring or summer of 2012.

Superior Court Judge Scott Gordon set a rough time frame for the divorce trial between Dodgers owner Frank McCourt and his ex-wife to commence. Because of the extremely high value of assets involved in the divorce, the judge is expecting the trial to last 30-45 days.

Rightful ownership in the Dodgers is the key issue in the proceedings. McCourt claims he is the sole owner of the Dodgers and maintains that the team should not to be treated as marital property. He argues that the team should be treated as his separate property. However, his ex-wife claims that the team is marital property and she is now half-owner of the franchise.

With ownership in limbo, McCourt was forced to file for bankruptcy protection for the Dodgers, a move that many are unsure the baseball team can rebound from. It is a possibility that a judge could order the sale of the team's parent company with the Dodgers included in the package.

However, McCourt and the Dodgers took out a $150 million bankruptcy loan from MLB, which McCourt claims will keep the franchise alive long into next season.

The judge presiding over the trial said he would not rule on the ownership of the team until the pending bankruptcy case reaches a resolution.

Not only will the upcoming divorce trial bring the ownership issue to rest, it will also settle all the other unresolved issues in the case, including permanent spousal support and division of other assets.

At an earlier hearing, McCourt agreed to pay $225,000 per month in temporary spousal support. Before that, he was paying an additional $412,000 each month to go towards the couple's residential properties.

Source: Los Angeles Times, "Final Frank and Jamie McCourt divorce trial? Wait till next year," Bill Shaikin, Sept. 14, 2011