This book will focus on the rights each spouse has under certain laws, situations, and circumstances, and how the division of the property will be decided by the court or through negotiation.
I'll try to make this as short as possible. My wife left me June 06. We were together 13 years and married 5 when she left. We got married in may 2001 and live in New York. We are still married so I guess in the courts eyes married 6 years. I wanted to work things out she did not. She moved out and got her own apartment.
In March 2000 (before I got married) with gift money from my elderly father I purchased a house from my sister and my father gave gift money to my sister to purchase a house for her family and him to move into because he could not longer live alone.
I never put my wife on the deed and the house is in my name only. All the utilities are in my name and there were no improvements made to the house to increase it's value. The only thing my wife ever had to pay for was the groceries and the cable bill(in my name also) I paid for everything else.
My wife did nothing to move our divorce forward so a month ago with advice from a lawyer I had here served with divorce papers citing constructive abandonment. Her lawyer has now sent my lawyer papers saying that she is charging ME with constructive abandonment and that I kicked her out of the house when she knows damn well that is not how it went down. I begged her to try and work things out and she refused and left.
She is asking for equal distribution of all marital property but did not list what that is. The ONLY thing she ever contributed to the house is she purchased a new oven, refrigerator and a BBQ. The total for all these items is around $1300.00 but she got around 4 years use out of each.
I have all the documentation on how and when the house was obtained with gift money before I got married. Also she makes more money than I do and is asking for spousal support and that I pay her lawyer fees.
From what I have read and what my lawyer has said is a judge will say my house is pre-marital property and she can not touch it. My fear is that somehow a judge will sympathize with her for some reason and not call my house pre-marital property. Can a judge change the law as he or she sees fit? I have no problem paying her for the appliances but I have a major fear about the house. With her now saying I kicked her out and her refusing to speak to me now I do not know what to think. Is my house safe? Can a judge still give her half of it with all the proof I have about how and when it was purchased? Or would the judge have to follow the law on what is considered pre-marital property?