questions regarding equitable distribution

[tofino812]

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

hi all - this is my first post so please bear with me

background:
i have been married for 2 years. approximately 2 months into my marriage, my husband was diagnosed with bipolar disorder, ultradian (ultra-rapid) cycling. although he has never really been a HUGE provider, once diagnosed he stopped work completely. i, in turn, became sole breadwinner - paying for all bills, 2 mortgages (until we finally sold one for a loss), and his impulsive spending sprees. he contributes nothing, refuses meds, totally mooches off me, etc. i have had enough and am ready to move on with my life. i am a young successful real estate agent, and dealing with the cycles (that he adamantly refuses to seek help for) is killing me. i have turned from a confident warm person into a bundle of nerves and anxiety. for those of you living with bipolar spouses or who are bipolar sufferers, please don't knock me for leaving - i have truly tried everything in my power and i am out of options - i have to save myself.

my questions:
#1 - since i have been supporting him due to his unwillingness to provide or seek employment, will i be paying alimony? we haven't really lived any sort of lavish or extravagant lifestyle since every dime i've made has gone to bills (especially during the time we had the two mortgages)

#2 - his grandparents gifted him a home which he immediately gifted 1/2 interest to me PRIOR to our marriage. that home was sold several years ago. since he made it marital property by deeding me 1/2 interest, it is marital property correct? please keep in mind that he deeded me 1/2 a year before we got married (we were living together then)

#3 - will a judge take into account that i have been the sole provider of our home since the inception of the marriage when determining the division of property/assets? we have a lot of very nice furniture (that i purchased) as well as $150K of equity in our home (which i created by paying down the mortgage every single month) - will he get to take 1/2 of this even though there was ZERO contribution by him to make these things happen?

#4 - due to the bipolar, he would go on manic spending sprees during cycles. this resulted in 3 maxed out credit cards that are in his name. i paid on these for a while but eventually stopped since he wasn't working. two of these are in collections and one is a judgment against him for the amount on the card. are these my responsibility?

thank you so much in advance...

 

[mistoffolees]

#4 - due to the bipolar, he would go on manic spending sprees during cycles. this resulted in 3 maxed out credit cards that are in his name. i paid on these for a while but eventually stopped since he wasn't working. two of these are in collections and one is a judgment against him for the amount on the card. are these my responsibility?

thank you so much in advance...

Someone else will answer the rest of your questions (I'm not very familiar with equitable distribution states), but you need to start thinking of the future rather than the past.

1. Get an attorney immediately and file for divorce. If he runs up debts after that, they will be his problem, not yours.
2. Cancel any credit cards that you have outstanding with his name on them and reopen accounts in your own name only.
The sooner you act, the sooner you will minimize the damage to your future.

If he is as bad as you say, he should apply for disability. If his employer had it, that's great. If not, he should apply for SS disability, at least.

 

[LdiJ]

my questions:
#1 - since i have been supporting him due to his unwillingness to provide or seek employment, will i be paying alimony? we haven't really lived any sort of lavish or extravagant lifestyle since every dime i've made has gone to bills (especially during the time we had the two mortgages)

You haven't been married long enough for alimony to be a factor, or at least not in the long term. You might have to deal with some very temporary alimony.

#2 - his grandparents gifted him a home which he immediately gifted 1/2 interest to me PRIOR to our marriage. that home was sold several years ago. since he made it marital property by deeding me 1/2 interest, it is marital property correct? please keep in mind that he deeded me 1/2 a year before we got married (we were living together then)

If the house is sold, its no longer marital property. However, any proceeds from that home that are still in the bank, and/or debt associated with that home, is either marital property or marital debt.

#3 - will a judge take into account that i have been the sole provider of our home since the inception of the marriage when determining the division of property/assets? we have a lot of very nice furniture (that i purchased) as well as $150K of equity in our home (which i created by paying down the mortgage every single month) - will he get to take 1/2 of this even though there was ZERO contribution by him to make these things happen?

In an equitable distribution state it is sometimes possible to avoid a true 50/50 split, but it would go both ways, so the house that we were talking about above, could go more to him, since it was his premaritally, while the assets accumulated during the marriage might go more to you. However, even in a best case scenario, you are looking at maybe 60/40, or 70/30.....and its not very common for a judge to deviate from 50/50.

#4 - due to the bipolar, he would go on manic spending sprees during cycles. this resulted in 3 maxed out credit cards that are in his name. i paid on these for a while but eventually stopped since he wasn't working. two of these are in collections and one is a judgment against him for the amount on the card. are these my responsibility?

thank you so much in advance...

If those debts accumulated during the marriage, they are marital debts and will have to be settled with marital assets.

You have only been married for 2 years. Yet by the way you discuss the assets/debts it seems as though it would have taken much longer than that for them to accumulate. Don't forget that premarital, non-comingled debt/assets, remain separate property or debt.