Divorce Solutions

Question #73

NYC residents: my wife and I got married eight months ago. I had substantial assets before our marriage, and I make about four times her salary. Before our marriage, we entered into a contract to purchase a home for which I paid the down payment. After we got married, I paid the remainder on the house with the assets I had before our marriage. Can my wife claim that she wants half the house’s value, even though it is me who paid for it?

You did not indicate how the title to the property is held. If it is held in your name only and were paid for with funds you had before the marriage, it would be considered separate property and not marital property, and thus she would not have any interest in it. Even if the property is held in both names, since the duration of your marriage is so short ( 8 months), I do not believe the court would grant her an equal share of the house, which was funded entirely by you with funds you had before the marriage. Please call me at 212-370-1660 to discuss mediating your divorce. I can help.

Leonard M. Weiner, Esq. /Divorce Solutions