FINANCIAL ISSUES – MARITAL PROPERTY V. SEPARATE PROPERTY – Page 18

Oct 30, 2018

Question #133:One of my friends was married in february 2003 and has now decided to separate from his spouse but is trying to be understanding about her situation. Her situation is that she is awaiting citizenship papers. Now I am worried for him because when the time comes she may want to take spousal support from him because she works off the books. He says she is a good person just that he is not in love so he doesn’t believe she will do something like that. However I am a woman and I know better. They don’t have any children from one another, however she did give birth to a stillborn last month; october. They both live in NYC. What are the laws of alimony in this case? Thank You.

The longer your friend remains married, the stronger his spouse’s claim to spousal support, especially since she is not working and he is the sole support for both of them presently. He should also think twice about whether he wishes to continue to remain as her immigration sponsor in the United States since he may […]

Oct 30, 2018

Question #132: I am in Wisconsin. I recently got divorced and my ex-husband is taking over the house that we purchased together at the end of last year. It is in the divorce papers that he is getting the house, however there is nothing that states he has to refinance by a certain date to have my name removed from the mortgage. It seems as though that he just keeps putting it off and will not refinance, and he has been asking me for money since my name is still on the mortgage even though I have not been living there for over 6 months now. What are my legal rights? Is there anything I can do to force him to refinance the house or any type of paperwork that can be completed stating that I am no longer financially responsible?

This problem should have been addressed at the time when you agreed to deed over to your spouse your interest in the house. Not just marital assets must be divided at the time of separation but also the marital debts, of which the mortgage is one. Your attorney should have addressed this issue when you […]

Oct 30, 2018

Question #131:OK, complicated question. First background: 1) Married for 4.5 years. 2) Own apartment in manhattan in wife’s name. 3) She has been mostly there since 2000. 4) I rent in California. 5) She hasn’t worked for a year and a half, but made a lot of money before the market crashed. She’s been living from that. 6) She has admitted to cheating on me several times since married, and has promised each time to stop. 7) I have some of her emails that support this. 8) I have some proof and believe that she has had an ongoing intimate relationship for the last several months with a person that I know the identity of. 9) I have her admitting to cheating on me within the last “couple of months”. 10)We were married in Nevada, but had residence in Califronia together from 1998 until 2000 and were married in 1999.

You can file either in California where you have been living for over a year or in New York, where your spouse has been living for over one year. Since the apartment is located in Manhattan, it makes more sense to file in New York where the decision of the court will be able to […]

Oct 30, 2018

Question #130:We are divorcing after 20 years. He is unemployed but looking. We have enough money and he wants to buy me out of my portion of the house, Since he is unemployed, he won’t qualify for his own financing. I don’t want to force him on the street. He wants me to leave everything as is and to file a quit claim deed. My name is still on the mortgage. If he pays me off, and I file quit claim deed on our house, In the event that he is late on a payment and begins to ruin my credit rating can I still force him to sell or do anything legally that would get my name off the mortgage?

As long as you remain on the mortgage you’ll be liable for the payments that are due even if you quitclaim your interest to your spouse. Before transferring your interest in the property you must arrange with the bank to be removed from the mortgage. He could theoretically take on a second mortgage which would […]

Oct 30, 2018

Question #129:My husband filed for divorce after 21 yrs. of marriage after meeting someone a month before. We live in NY. At this time my 3 boys were 21, 18,16. I never worked.There were 4 properties to be divided, laundromats, contracting businesses, my x hadn’t filed taxes since 96, and much more. My lawyer was horrible. I wrote her letters numerous times. I had consults with other lawyers to see if they would take over my case. They wanted a lot of money because of the mess and I didn’t have the money to give them. I had no cash. On the day of the inquest, we were in the halls of the courts trying to split properties based on a “draft” settelement. My lawyer never went over it with me or discused with me my life style and that of my boys or the cost of living for me and my boys. My boys were the biggest concern to me and she repeatedly told me the two oldest are not my problem. It was very unprofesssional. To make a long and complicated story short, I went befor a judge for an inquest – I did not know what this was. I was tired and disgusted. Never thinking or knowing this was my final contract. My x was in contempt for all other pende- lite motions – never returned furniture, didn’t have art work appraised that he stole out of the house (over $100,000), didn’t give me maintenance and child support for two months, didn’t do repairs on the home, etc. My lawyer did nothing even though I was angry – she told me to stop worrying about the little things. and since all the court orders that were ordered in the previous months were ignored I thought initialing the papers was just temporary – my divorce settlement is only 7 pages, a lot of cross outs – a disgrace. Medical was never mentioned but in the papers sent to the judge to be filed my sweetheart of a lawyer added that I would be fully responsible for medical for myself and my youngest son. Regarding my youngest son’s education – she wrote that we would go to court if we could not agree. Since we don’t speak – we didn’t agree. I could not afford it, I can not get loans. My father helped out the first semester. The judge did not sign the papers until last month so now I can go to court and have the judge decide who has to pay. My x can afford it. My x is also suing me because I have not transferred deed. After the inquest, I asked my lawyer to do a title seach on the two properties I was awarded, she did it on the matriamonal property. With the transfer of deed papers she sent me a judgment or lien. There is a $200,000 lien on my property so I refused to transfer the deeds because no one can tell me if the lien will come off with his name. Another property I received has a satisfaction. At the day of the inquest I was told I would have to pay a man $2300 a month cash, because my x said he used the builiding for collataral but didn’t explain for what. I wanted to see the note – still haven’t. So next week I am going to court. My x is suing me for legal fees,want’s to get sherriffs to take baseball cards out of the house, force me to transfer deeds and to pay a loan shark. I am going to court alone – can’t afford a lawyer. Like I said this divorce was a disgrace and handled very unprofessional. Any advice for me would be appreciated? Do you think I have grounds to sue my lawyer and if you do can you recommend anyone?

I cannot overemphasize the need to find experienced, competent, matrimonial counsel when searching for legal representation in a divorce situation. From your description it is apparent that your lawyer neglected to inform you of the terms of the proposed settlement as they were being discussed and deliberated and to properly investigate the property that was […]

Oct 30, 2018

Question #128:I live in NY,married 7yrs,children 6 & 3-stay at home mom for 3 years. I will have custody of children,we are all living in our current home. My husband wants the divorce & does not want to move out,he wants to buy me out of home. Do I legally have the right to stay in our home with children and have him move out .Alot of people tell me that I can stay in home with children. Will he have to pay mortgage &taxes ??

Since the children are so young, if you were selected by the court as the residential parent, the court would allow you to remain in the marital home until the youngest child reaches majority, which is 18 years of age. Whether your husband would be required to pay for the mortgage and taxes would depend […]

Oct 30, 2018

Question #127:My husband and I have been married for 20 years. We live in New York. He left the house. We have 2 children together. I make more money than him. Do I have to pay him alimony? Does he get half of my pension? Do I have to be legally separated for him to only get 1/2 pension for the time we were married? Thanks!

You indicate that you have two children but do not mention their ages. If they are under 18 years of age, there is a question of custody and child support which must be determined in the course of the separation and divorce process. With regard to alimony,, which is now referred to as spousal maintenance […]

Oct 30, 2018

Question #126:I have been married to this man for 8 years …he has spinal injury and is confined to a wheelchair…When we first got married he was walking with canes and he told me that it was temporary that he would walk again. However shortly after we got married he sustained a fracture and refused to continue therapy so he could walk with canes again but instead requested a wheelchair. Our relationship has deteriorated sexually and otherwise. He is now impotent…we haven’t had sex in over 5 years and I have never cheated on him…He does not want me to work..so I can serve him hand and feet…He refuses to go on disability because this is his way of controlling me…he brings in the money and I serve him hand and feet and remain his prisoner…I am now 51 years old and I just can’t take this anymore..It is driving me crazy…I want a divorce but the house is on his name and I have nothing….no job no money…every time I get a job he manipulates me into quitting….please help me….I am not a greedy person I just want to be compensated for all the time I gave to him…I have had no life since the day I married him…he managed to alienate me from all my friends and family…I would really appreciate your advice on how I can go about getting a divorce from this man and be able to get something to start a new life with….I am a medical transcriptionist by trade so I can still get back in the job market and be able to take care of myself but right now I have no money of my own…my mother left me $13,000.00 when she died but he put it on both our names and we don’t have even that much in the bank anymore….thanks again .

From the facts which you present, it sounds like family counseling should be your first choice and not divorce mediation. Severe sickness or disability of one spouse places a tremendous emotional and physical burden on the healthy spouse and it is not unusual for you to react in the way you are. I strongly suggest […]

Oct 30, 2018

Question #125:Hi, My mother is has been married for over 46 years but has been separated for over 22 years. My question is would she be entitled to his pensions; he worked two jobs for over 35 years. If yes, at what percent. She is thinking of getting legally separated. Thank you.

Until she enters into a legal Separation Agreement, although she has been separated for 22 years, she is still considered married and has an interest in her spouses pensions. Certainly for the period during which they were living together, approximately 24 years, she should be entitled to 50 percent of the pension earned during that […]

Oct 30, 2018

Question #124:hello. i am 36 yrs old and have been married for 6 yrs. my wife and i have come to an agreement that we need a separation. we have 2 children. the car the condo, all of our possessions we attained during the marriage. i am working but my wife is currently unemployed. she is about to get a job that will potentially pay her six figures(double what i make). i am willing to pay child support but what happens when she gets the job? ami still responsible to pay her funds even though she makes double what i do? we have agreed on terms for the separation but just need to have it finalized. can you help me with the name of someone in bklyn or manhattan that can help? thank you for your help in this matter.

If your wife becomes financially self-sufficient, you will not be required to pay spousal support for her. You will be responsible to pay your share of the child support. There are, however, many more issues to be resolved and to be incorporated in a written Separation Agreement, (e.g. child custody, child support division of marital […]

LEONARD M.WEINER, ESQ, Ph.D.

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FINANCIAL ISSUES - MARITAL PROPERTY V. SEPARATE PROPERTY

Question #125:Hi, My mother is has been married for over 46 years but has been separated for over 22 years. My question is would she be entitled to his pensions; he worked two jobs for over 35 years. If yes, at what percent. She is thinking of getting legally separated. Thank you.