Question #317:My daughter lives in Staten Island NY. She is getting divorced and would like me to buy her husband’s interest in the house. I live in NJ. What is the proper procedure to follow?

In order to properly answer your question I must see the Deed to see how the property is held, investigate if there is an existing mortgage or liens on the property, and Discuss with you the status of the divorce proceedings.

Please call me at 212-370-1660 to arrange for a meeting to discuss this matter in greater detail.

Leonard Weiner. Esq./Divorce Solutions

Question #288:My ex-wife and I divorced in Louisiana in Dec 2011. She remained in the home we jointly mortgaged. We still live in Louisiana and in the divorce decree we were granted an equal and undivided one-half interest in all community property. (blanket statement…non specific) I recently attempted to seek financing for another home but was denied as I am still liable for the previous home. So I asked my ex-wife to refinance the home in her name and I would not seek my interest in the home until she sells it otherwise. Now at the closing bell, she has presented me with a Quitclaim deed which reads: “(me the seller ) who declared that for and in consideration of the price of One And 00/100 Dollars ($1.00), cash in hand paid, receipt of which is hereby acknowledged by Seller, and full acquittance and discharge therefore given, Seller does hereby sell, transfer, assign, quitclaim, remise, release and relinquish unto Purchasers, all of the rights, title and interest which said Seller has or may have in and to the following described property.” If I sign this quitclaim deed, do I relinquish my rights to the divorce decreed equal and undivided one-half interest in all community property, namely my interest in the home?

Do not sign the Deed! You will be giving up your rights to receive any proceeds from the sale of the property.
If you wish you may agree upon an amount that you believe you should get from the sale of the house and have your spouse sign a promissory note for that amount plus interest until paid ( all due at the time the house is sold –set some outside date by which the house must be sold) and sign a mortgage which you will file With the County recorder’s office. Then you may transfer title to her.

Good luck!

Leonard M. Weiner, Esq./ Divorce Solutions

Question #243:My wife of 11 years and I have a 27-year old daughters and we live in NY. She makes considerably more than I do. I lost my restaurant job in Oct. and she gave me an ultimatum since my career in the arts and the fact that I can’t land a steady writing job has not taken off. She gave me six-months to find a job that pays at least $45,000/year or I have to leave. The six month mark is next month and I haven’t found anything yet. I’m sure if I move out the next step would be divorce. We are putting our co-op on the market next month. Would I be entitled to a percentage of that sale? If I don’t get a job and my unemployment runs out, ironically I would have to rely on that for child support payments. And how much child support would I have to pay? Forgive my naiveté and please keep this anonymous. Thanks so much.

Any property you or your wife own regardless of in whose name the property is held, if it was acquired in the course of the marriage with funds earned during the marriage, the property will be considered marital property, and generally the courts will divided it in half. If the funds which you used to purchase the property were an inheritance or separate funds earned prior to the marriage, and the property was kept in your individual name, that property would be separate property and not marital property.
I suggest you do not leave the coop until you have some form of written agreement regarding how the proceeds of the sale will be divided.
Child support will be determined based on a statutory formula, (for two children , approximately 25% of your gross income minus certain FICA deductions), and the courts will generally review the last three years of tax returns to estimate what your income is or should be. You of course can try to explain to the court that you are unemployed and have been diligently seeking employment but to no avail.

If you are living in the New York City metropolitan area, I strongly suggest that you call me at 212-370-1660 to arrange for a meeting to discuss mediating your separation and eventual divorce. It will save you time and money and lots of aggravation.

Leonard M. Weiner, Esq./ Divorce Solutions

Question #242:My wife and I have been separated for 15 months and we met with a court referee this week. She suggested to my ex that the house be put on the market as soon as possible so we get the maximum value of the asset. What can I do if she does not put the house on the market ? Do I have any recourse ? She is going to wait till the last minute for she does not want her life to change at all (except for me)….Can any penalties be imposed upon her like less distribution ??

In order to properly respond I will have to see your Separation Agreement and get more details.
Please call me at 212-370-1660 on Monday to arrange for a meeting to discuss the issues and review the documents you entered into.

Leonard Weiner, Esq./ Divorce Solutions

Question #240:My mother passed away in 1999 and my father remarried about 3 years ago..we all live in NYC. My father has a mitchell lama Co-op apartment that has had since 1986. Its in his name as are all the bills. He put his wifes name on the affidavit just in case something were to happen to him. I think you see where imgoin with this..if they were to divorce, and i hope they do, would she have claim to the apartment.. they are both retired and he makes slightly more than she does.. if she had to she would not be able to afford the expenses of that apartment on her own. he would be able to and was doing so prior to her coming into the picture. please help .. thank you

I do not understand exactly what you mean by saying “his wife’s name is on the affidavit”. Is she registered with the co-op board as an owner of the co-op shares? Title to the co-op will depend on whose name is recorded as the owner. If she has been added as a co- owner of the apartment, then it depends on how title is held. It may be held as joint tenants, or in the entirety, in which case the survivor will get the entire ownership of the co op, or it may be held as tenants in common, in which case she has a ½ ownership interest, and your father has ½ interest ownership interest, and when he passes away his interest will be inherited either according to his will or by the laws of intestacy.

Leonard M. Weiner, Esq./ Divorce Solutions

Question #235:We been married for 24 years in Wisconsin, things aren’t going so well anymore in our marriage. I want to get a Legal Separation to see if we can work through our marriage. He came to me saying he wants to sell our home, that we have resided in for 19 years and move to Georgia, cause cost of living is cheaper. He knows I’m going for separation and I think he wants to get a hold of the house money first. What should I do? and can he sell the house during a Legal Separation? Thank You

Do not sign anything until you have a clear idea of what you wish to do.
If you are named on the Deed he will need your signature to sell the property.
If you decide to sell because you think it is a good idea, have the net proceeds divided in half and your portion paid directly to you at the closing.
Do not allow the payment to be made to him or even to both of you but in one check.
He could sell the house during a legal separation if you are on the deed and sign over the property to him.
If the property is only in his name but was acquired during the marriage, you must file for separation and divorce immediately to stop the sale.

Leonard Weiner, Esq./Divorce Solutions

Question #221:I live in upstate New York. We have been married 8 yrs, we have a prenuptial I think is invalid. I had no attorney and was presented the papers 10 days before our marriage and never even saw any attorney. There has been documented domestic violence. My husband bought the land with an old house on it before we married. We knocked down the old house after we were married and built a new house which we have not mortgage for. I have paid all the househould maintenance bills and contributed to the raw material of the new house. I have recently been put out of work on social securtihy disability to never go back to work, he made 138,000 last years, but says I am entitled to nothing. We have no children together. Please advise.

There are two basic issues here.

1. The division of marital assets and whether the house is considered a marital asset.

2. Whether you are entitled to spousal support.

In order to properly answer these questions I would have to examine the prenuptial agreement that you signed , and to find out more details about the circumstances around which you were asked to sign this prenuptial agreement. It is also important to ascertain how title to the property is held and whether you can document the actual contributions you made to the house and the mortgage.

With regard to the second question of spousal support, if there is a major discrepancy between your income and his, and the standard of living that you have maintained as a family cannot be supported on your income, you will most likely be granted some spousal support for a period of time.

If you are living in the New York City metropolitan area , I strongly suggest that you call me at 212-370-1660 to discuss the matter at greater length.

Leonard M. Weiner, Esq./Divorce Solutions

Question #200:I live in NY and have two children in the 20’s. My husband was having financial difficulties with his businesses in 2002 and instead of listening to the advice of his corporate lawyers he left me a note that hinted at suicide and stated that he was leaving and he just didnt leave he became a missing person. The police found him 4 months later 300 miles from our house cooking at a restaurant and hanging out in the bars at night with a group of 20 year olds ( we are in our 40’s). He left me with no income and a 18 year old son in college. I had to get a job and the banks forclosed on his businesses because none of the businesses were in my name and was never involved with them. This forced bankruptcy beyond my control. I was a fool and took him back but never could trust him and when I told him how I felt he said get over it and he never should have come back. After 3 years of trying to save the marriage I realized I would never trust him and I told him I wanted to seperate and he told me to get out I refused to leave and one night when iwasent home he locked me out. He would not let me in to get anything. I called the police many times and they said get a lawyer and tell the judge there was nothing they could do. So I started staying with a friend and we both hired lawyers. My lawyer requested that I be allowed to get my things and he responded by saying I took everything and nothing was at the house that was mine. A month later we had a flood at the house that flooded the unfinished basement. He now says he sold my things, gave them away, and what was left was ruined by the flood. When we went to court this information was given to the judge but he didnt do anything except order an appraisal on the house and let my husband stay in the house at this time. Meanwhile I have nothing except what I had the night he locked me out and a few things I have bought. Before I retained my attorney he had his lawyer send me a seperation agreement that he wanted me to sign and attached to it was a list of my personal property that he was willing to give to me if I signed it. I didnt feel it was fair and I wanted my lawyer to look at it and when he found out I had a lawyer he said sign it now or you will never get anything. He would keep saying if you sign the car over to me I will give you your things. I signed the car over to him and never got anything. Then he said if you give me the dog I will give you your things I gave him the dog and never got anything. I was also paying all of the bills at the house for 3 months after he locked me out. I cannot keep staying with this friend, I have no furniture, I want the house and I want to be allowed back in my own house now. Please help me he has taken everything I own and I lived in that house for 23 years raised my two sons while he was married to his job and never home and I have emotional attachment to it. That house is all I have left of what I did have he has taken everything from me and no one will help me all my lawyer is saying is the judge will address it. The appraisal also came in and he is claiming the flood caused damage to the house so now it has no equity but 6 months ago he said it had 50 thousand in equity. Only the unfinished basement was flooded and I think he put in a claim in fema. No one will let me into my own house that I have owned and still own for the last 23 years to even see what damage there is and if my personal belongings are there. I heard that he is seeing another women, can he let her move into our house now. Please help me I feel like I have no rights.

Sounds like you picked the wrong lawyer!
You should find a lawyer in your area who is an experienced, matrimonial
attorney who also does civil litigation and is not afraid to sue your husband.
If title to your house is in your name as well as that of your husband, you own
part of the property and should have every right to its use and occupancy.

Good luck!

Leonard M. Weiner, Esq./ Divorce Solutions

Question #198:My wife and moved to Florida from NY State and shortly after being here I found that my wife was having an affair with her boss. He ownes the real estate office and she works for him. Now before moving to Florida we listed the house thru him. Well needless to say Im not on the deed which is not a problem but the problem comes in is that once he found a buyer he convinced her to quick deed the property to him so he can sell it 4 weeks later for alot more money so that when we go to divorce court it shows that she made no money on the house. Now my question here also as a licensed broker and having the affair with my wife using his business to help her dispose of a marital asset could he lose his license for that. All allegations can be proven. She quick deed the property to him for 252,000 and he sold it 5 weeks later for 289,900. He is holdng on the the monies till our divorce go thru. Do I have a criminal case here? PLease help me

You need a litigation attorney in the state where the property was sold,
not a matrimonial attorney.

Good luck!

Leonard Weiner, Esq./Divorce Solutions

Question #186:My divorces become final in August of 2006. In my divorce decree it states that my ex husband has to transfer the house into my name and to remove his name from the house. It also states that he has to transfer the deed into my name within 30 days. As you can see, it is well past 30 days. What can I do to get the house in my name? Also can I sell the house even if he hasn’t signed the papers to transfer (my name was never on the house) and only use the divorce decree to sell the house?

You should first try to contact your ex husband or his attorney and see if you can resolve the matter without having to go to court. In the event that it is impossible to get any response from him or his attorney, you should contact your attorney to file at Order to Show Cause demanding that the Order of the judge be enforced and that your ex sign the deed over to you in court immediately.

Without your ex husband’s signing the property over to you, I doubt whether any reputable title company will insure the transfer of the property by you alone, even based on your divorce decree.

If you are living in the New York City metropolitan area, please call me at 212-370-1660 to discuss the matter at greater length.

Leonard M. Weiner, Esq./Divorce Solutions