Equity in Property

What is the name of your state? CALIFORNIA

Hi, this is my first post.

My question is this... My wife and I have been seperated since June 6 2003, which is our legal date of sepeartion. I filed for divorce soon after. Since then I have been going through a nightmare of child custody court dates and(TRO) temp restraining orders. So the divorce and property division is just beginning..

My wife signed a No-clets order (I think thats what its called,) drawn up by my attorney on July 2003. It stated: 1) I have temp use of work van. 2) She has temp use of 1996 4runner. 3) I have exclusive use of the family residence and shall pay and keep current all encumbrances thereon.
Yes it says exclusive on the order regarding the house and temporary regarding the use of the vehicles.

Also we have 2 kids which we split 50/50 physical and legal custody.

My question is this: Since our date of seperation is 6/6/03 and the value of or house has gone up a great deal and i have been in the house since then, making all payments and making a lot of improvemnts to help with the sale if i decide to do that. Does her equity stop at the date of seperation?

Question #2
Can i force a deferred sale of the house when my youngest child turns 18?


I hope i didnt ramble to much....I have a ton of more questions re: divorce, child support. So Ill be around....lol


Thanks in advance

Norcal

[I AM ALWAYS LIABLE]

[quote=Norcal]What is the name of your state? CALIFORNIA


My question is this: Since our date of seperation is 6/6/03 and the value of or house has gone up a great deal and i have been in the house since then, making all payments and making a lot of improvemnts to help with the sale if i decide to do that. Does her equity stop at the date of seperation?

MY RESPONSE: No. As long as you remain married, she has a community property interest in the house. You should have been counseled by your attorney to "bifurcate" the issue of your marriage, from all other pending issues. Had you bifurcated, and received a divorce early on, then she would have only been entitled to a community property share up to the date of the entry of judgment of dissolution. So, as long as you remain married, her share goes up too.



Question #2
Can i force a deferred sale of the house when my youngest child turns 18?

MY RESPONSE: Perhaps. It all depends upon the actual facts; e.g., the child's life would be irreparably interrupted should the house be sold, etc., etc.

Norcal, where's your attorney?

IAAL

Thats my biggest problem is my attorney, Im getting ready to fire him...Whats it take to get the bifurcate of the marriage? He never mentioned that phrase... I spent $7000 with this guy and all he did for me was file the dissolution of marriage which i could have done and appear to 6-7 court dates regarding custody and TRO issuses..My wife kept having excuses after excuses and my attorney would always suggest another date for her to get drug test done and income and expense report to us...Never once played hardball....

What about the fact i have been paying the mortgage and all the repairs and improvements ive done since then?

As far as your question re: deferred sale and the kids.

MY RESPONSE: Perhaps. It all depends upon the actual facts; e.g., the child's life would be irreparably interrupted should the house be sold, etc., etc.

Yes it would definitely impact their lives. They were borne and raised here and has been the only thing that has remained the same prior to seperation. They both have their own rooms and when i mentioned we need to sell the house my oldest daughter became extremely upset...There is a lot of dark incidents my wife has subjected my kids through especially my oldest since this began....So another move might be the straw that broke the camels back. And i own an electrical contracting bussiness that i run my from an office i built in garage that will be impacted....

The most recent being my wife tried to run me over in front of my own house just last nite which i caught on my survellance camera and witnessed by 4 neighbors...which is another topic in its self...If nothing is done to her i will be looking for counsel to sue the local police department... I have 40-50 events at my home that i iniated due to her violent behavior which includes several assaults with witness and video to back up. I got a TRO that the police would not honor on several occasions and even got an officer to tell me the TRO isnt worth the paper its written on and what i need is a permanent Restraining order which is utter BS...Im a local business that has lost 4 employees due to my wifes direct harassment while they are on my property and working.

Thanks for the quick response I really appreciate it...

I am currently looking for a good divorce attny in the antioch, CA area 94509 which is 45 miles east of SF, CA