Marital Property?

Dell_Hell · 2021-12-16T14:50:48+00:00

**This is going to vary from state to state, so check your state laws.**

Essentially, if your mother in law and STBXW did an exceptionally good job of keeping everything away from a joint account that you put funds into / have access to - you may not be eligible.

When the house was sold, did the funds go into your JOINT checking account or did they stay with the mother in laws account? You need to start digging for bank details, closing details of where funds got paid from right now.
Have real estate taxes / property taxes been paid out of your joint account? Check those receipts and who paid for what and how.

Essentially, since your mother in law is still alive - inheritance laws may not apply. If you can prove that money from joint accounts has been used to pay ownership responsibilities like property / real estate taxes, that helps your assertion that this is a marital asset and not the mother-in-laws asset they happen to allow you access to.

47omek · 2021-12-16T14:59:44+00:00

Have the loan payments been made with marital funds (ie. your or your wife's paycheck)? If so you're definitely entitled to half of the equity gained via reduction in the loan over the last 4 years and probably entitled to half of any increases in value of the home during that time as well. You're probably not going to get any of the value of the downpayment that came from selling the in-law's house, but I wouldn't go in with that as your opening position during negotiations. Horse-trade away that downpayment equity in exchange for something else you want.

pegleg_legal · 2021-12-17T02:06:04+00:00

If the money is traceable to inheritance or a gift made solely to your wife, then it's probably gonna be an uphill battle. But looking more broadly toward the marital resources directed at caring for her parents, who in lieu of paying rent bought you a house, ... there's probably some meat on that bone. Definitely lawyer territory.

RepresentativeOk5968 · 2021-12-17T14:43:23+00:00

IANAL but I believe this is correct. Since it is the marital home, it is will be assumed to be marital property. However, if she wants to contest you on it, she can. She will have to clearly show that the money spent on the down payment was clearly her money and only her money. Depending on how tidy her accounting skills are, this may or may not be difficult. I ran into this with my divorce but from the other end.

However, for your situation, at the very least the payments for the mortgage since the purchase of the home probably are coming from a joint account:? So at the very least, you could claim appreciation of equity during your 3 year ownership if not half of all the equity if she can't trace that money from the downpayment correctly.

I say legally and morally you would be in the clear to pursue this equity in the marital home.

Title	Marital Property?
Author	drinkswithsteven
Upvotes	4
Comments	7
Date	December 16, 2021 2:26 PM UTC (4 years ago)
Subreddit	Posted in /r/Divorce_Men
Original Link	https://old.reddit.com/r/Divorce_Men/comments/rhrsz5/marital_property/
Archive Link	https://theredarchive.com/r/Divorce_Men/marital-property.1092154 https://theredarchive.com/post/1092154

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