divorce advice needed and questions I have

[B20forlife]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Arizona

1.Ok so me and my x have been split up for almost a year now. She moved out and lives on her own and I live in my house. Now the house I have I bought many years before the marige. We married in 2013 and separated middle of 2014. We never had joint bank accounts. We always had our own and she would only give me $200 a month to cover cell phone and bills. We split everything when it came to food and our child care. Can she take my house? Her name was never added to anything on it.

2. We have a son and I wanted to do 50/50 with her. But she is against it. I am a great father and try to spend as much time as I can with him. My family members are the ones that watch him for us. Now she doesn't want to agree to it. We live 5 minutes away from each other. Will the court be in my favor for 50/50?

3. She had a domestic violence against me were she hit me and she was arrested. She was ordered by court to take anger management and after those classes they drop the charges. Can I bring this up in court if I still have the police report? Can this help me be the primary custodial parent?

 

[Proserpina]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Arizona

1.Ok so me and my x have been split up for almost a year now. She moved out and lives on her own and I live in my house. Now the house I have I bought many years before the marige. We married in 2013 and separated middle of 2014. We never had joint bank accounts. We always had our own and she would only give me $200 a month to cover cell phone and bills. We split everything when it came to food and our child care. Can she take my house? Her name was never added to anything on it.

No - but she will generally be entitled of half the equity acquired during the marriage.

2. We have a son and I wanted to do 50/50 with her. But she is against it. I am a great father and try to spend as much time as I can with him. My family members are the ones that watch him for us. Now she doesn't want to agree to it. We live 5 minutes away from each other. Will the court be in my favor for 50/50?

Co-parenting just isn't going to work unless both parents are willing to actually be effective co-parents. Ordering it against the wishes of one parent generally nixes the idea.

3. She had a domestic violence against me were she hit me and she was arrested. She was ordered by court to take anger management and after those classes they drop the charges. Can I bring this up in court if I still have the police report? Can this help me be the primary custodial parent?

But she has had the child overnight without you being present, yes?

You should be able to see where I'm going on that one.

 

[B20forlife]

No - but she will generally be entitled of half the equity acquired during the marriage.



Co-parenting just isn't going to work unless both parents are willing to actually be effective co-parents. Ordering it against the wishes of one parent generally nixes the idea.



But she has had the child overnight without you being present, yes?

You should be able to see where I'm going on that one.

Thank you for your response. How do I calculate equity gained? The market has been going up. Also is it the whole time we been married or till the date she moved out?

 

[Bali Hai]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Arizona

1.Ok so me and my x have been split up for almost a year now. She moved out and lives on her own and I live in my house. Now the house I have I bought many years before the marige. We married in 2013 and separated middle of 2014. We never had joint bank accounts. We always had our own and she would only give me $200 a month to cover cell phone and bills. We split everything when it came to food and our child care. Can she take my house? Her name was never added to anything on it.

2. We have a son and I wanted to do 50/50 with her. But she is against it. I am a great father and try to spend as much time as I can with him. My family members are the ones that watch him for us. Now she doesn't want to agree to it. We live 5 minutes away from each other. Will the court be in my favor for 50/50?

3. She had a domestic violence against me were she hit me and she was arrested. She was ordered by court to take anger management and after those classes they drop the charges. Can I bring this up in court if I still have the police report? Can this help me be the primary custodial parent?

Her violence will play an important fact in court.

 

[Proserpina]

Her violence will play an important fact in court.

Perhaps you'd like to expand on that, for OP's edification.

 

[single317dad]

Perhaps you'd like to expand on that, for OP's edification.

I'll bite, just to keep things moving:

http://www.azleg.state.az.us/ars/25/00403.htm

A. The court shall determine legal decision-making and parenting time, either originally or on petition for modification, in accordance with the best interests of the child. The court shall consider all factors that are relevant to the child's physical and emotional well-being, including:

1. The past, present and potential future relationship between the parent and the child.

2. The interaction and interrelationship of the child with the child's parent or parents, the child's siblings and any other person who may significantly affect the child's best interest.

3. The child's adjustment to home, school and community.

4. If the child is of suitable age and maturity, the wishes of the child as to legal decision-making and parenting time.

5. The mental and physical health of all individuals involved.

6. Which parent is more likely to allow the child frequent, meaningful and continuing contact with the other parent. This paragraph does not apply if the court determines that a parent is acting in good faith to protect the child from witnessing an act of domestic violence or being a victim of domestic violence or child abuse.

7. Whether one parent intentionally misled the court to cause an unnecessary delay, to increase the cost of litigation or to persuade the court to give a legal decision-making or a parenting time preference to that parent.

8. Whether there has been domestic violence or child abuse pursuant to section 25-403.03.

9. The nature and extent of coercion or duress used by a parent in obtaining an agreement regarding legal decision-making or parenting time.

10. Whether a parent has complied with chapter 3, article 5 of this title.

11. Whether either parent was convicted of an act of false reporting of child abuse or neglect under section 13-2907.02.

B. In a contested legal decision-making or parenting time case, the court shall make specific findings on the record about all relevant factors and the reasons for which the decision is in the best interests of the child.

Personally, I would have said "may" instead of "will", and laid out the other factors that are as or more important.

 

[LdiJ]

Thank you for your response. How do I calculate equity gained? The market has been going up. Also is it the whole time we been married or till the date she moved out?

Equity is the difference between what a house is worth and how much the mortgage balance is. So how much did the equity increase in the year or so that you were married before you separated?

 

[Proserpina]

I'll bite, just to keep things moving:

http://www.azleg.state.az.us/ars/25/00403.htm



Personally, I would have said "may" instead of "will", and laid out the other factors that are as or more important.

If we were discussing custody, I'd agree. And you and I both know exactly where Bali was going (other than down to the mail-box).

 

[B20forlife]

Thanks everyone for your replies. Now in reference to my house. I bought the house in 2010 for 91k as a repo. So in 2013 I belive it to be worth about 110k and I owed 76k. I currently owe 72k on it and it's worth about 140k does that mean I have to give her about 35k?

 

[single317dad]

Thanks everyone for your replies. Now in reference to my house. I bought the house in 2010 for 91k as a repo. So in 2013 I belive it to be worth about 110k and I owed 76k. I currently owe 72k on it and it's worth about 140k does that mean I have to give her about 35k?

Half of the $34k increase in equity, with possible variations as the two of you can agree, or as a judge determines, for example if one party wasted significant marital assets on a drug problem or other wasteful venture.

If that same $17k can be made up by you relinquishing your claim to other marital assets, then you can agree to divide assets that way (e.g., you keep the house, she gets everything else, no one pays anyone), or one of you could take on additional marital debt responsibility in exchange for additional assets in the division. You just need to balance the numbers on both sides in the end, or voluntarily agree to a slightly unbalanced result.

 

[B20forlife]

Ok let me ask this. We never had joint bank accounts. I always made the house payment and she did not contribute to the payment. I have bank statements were all payments came out of my checking account. We had always had separate bank accounts and split only food and bills and child care. Would my house be considered sole property since she never contributed to it?

 

[single317dad]

Ok let me ask this. We never had joint bank accounts. I always made the house payment and she did not contribute to the payment. I have bank statements were all payments came out of my checking account. We had always had separate bank accounts and split only food and bills and child care. Would my house be considered sole property since she never contributed to it?

You're getting into some more complex questions that, if both sides can't agree that "this is the way it is", will need to be argued in court. If it comes to that, I'd strongly recommend you retain a local family law attorney as the amounts you're talking about aren't pocket change and a misstep in court could cost you dearly.

In my opinion, if you paid the payments with money from your checking account, and you also deposited money you made during the marriage into that account (like your payroll from work), then you probably paid for the mortgage payments with marital funds. In that case she'd still be entitled to half the equity.

If the account was already funded with separate proceeds before the marriage, and you never put your paycheck (as only one example) into it during the marriage, then you might be able to argue you "paid the payments all by yourself". In that case you may avoid dividing the equity gained during the marriage. Research "commingling of separate assets" to learn more about that.

What's "right" and "legal" are, of course, important, but at this stage what the two of you can agree to may be far more important. If you can submit an agreed division of property, as long as it seems fair, the judge will probably just sign off on it. When these details become important is if you have to argue your case.

 

[LdiJ]

Thanks everyone for your replies. Now in reference to my house. I bought the house in 2010 for 91k as a repo. So in 2013 I belive it to be worth about 110k and I owed 76k. I currently owe 72k on it and it's worth about 140k does that mean I have to give her about 35k?

I would definitely talk to an attorney. I can see an argument to be made that the marital portion of the equity is 4k rather than 35k.

 

[stealth2]

I would definitely talk to an attorney. I can see an argument to be made that the marital portion of the equity is 4k rather than 35k.

I'm not getting the math.

 

[Bali Hai]

I'm not getting the math.

It's called screw the man math. Very common among lawyers for the wife and judges.