seperation of property. need answers !

[californiaguy1]

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

hi, my wife and i might be getting a D and im wondering about the property etc. her parents put money in our bank account to buy our house and we did. but the house is in hers and her parents name only. also she has bank accounts in another country with money being put in since before we got married and also after we got married. am i entitled to anything. we have 2 kids

 

[LdiJ]

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

hi, my wife and i might be getting a D and im wondering about the property etc. her parents put money in our bank account to buy our house and we did. but the house is in hers and her parents name only. also she has bank accounts in another country with money being put in since before we got married and also after we got married. am i entitled to anything. we have 2 kids

If the house is owned by her and her parents, then at best you would be entitled to 1/2 of your wife's share of the equity in the home that accrued during the marriage. Odds are that would be around 25% of the equity.

US courts have no jurisdiction over assets in another country, therefore you are SOL on that one...and even if the US could assert jurisdiction, anything put in the account prior to your marriage is a premarital asset and would not be subject to division. If any of the money put in the account since your marriage was a gift from her parents or other family members it would be separate property as well.

 

[mistoffolees]

US courts have no jurisdiction over assets in another country, therefore you are SOL on that one...

First part is true. Second part may not be - he may not be SOL depending on circumstances.

The US courts have no jurisdiction over foreign accounts, but they have jurisdiction over US accounts. Let's say that they have $100 K in foreign accounts and $100 K in US accounts. For the sake of argument, we'll assume that that is all marital (of course, any separate equity remains separate).

The court could say: We have no jurisdiction over the foreign accounts, but we'll award the husband ALL of the US accounts so that they each end up with 50% of marital assets.

So, OP needs to be able to document ALL the assets both here and abroad as much as possible and to identify which part is marital and which is separate. His attorney should subpoena all her financial records.

 

[californiaguy1]

thanks so much for the replies, i really appreciate it.