We recently answered some difficult divorce and property questions for a potential client.
The Divorce Question:
A husband insists that he be reimburse for mortgage payments made during the marriage on his wife’s family home, half the credit card debt, accrued and paid off, and half of the home equity increase during the marriage. The husband has a pension and no debt. The wife is unemployed and living off of savings. The husband refused a settlement offer, and wouldn’t accept a payment plan with a promissory note and lien on the house, demanding $150,000 in cash, or a sale of the home. Are his claims for reimbursement valid? Could the court force the wife to sell her family home because he will only accept cash?
Our Answer:
You don’t reimburse him for the mortgage payments unless he made them out of his separate property. Same answer for the credit card debt. If you want the house, you have to pay him half of the equity as of date of division. You get half of the community portion of his pension, which might be substantial – hopefully worth at least $45,000. Looks to me like your husband is bluffing and taking advantage of you.
For more information on Property Division during Divorce, Please visit our website: http://stanprowse.com/property-division-in-divorce
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