What can I get?

[karoline]

What is the name of your state? CA

We have been married for 2 years now. My husband had a house before we married that is owned by his father and him ( for refinance reasons and my husbands bad credit)

in case we divorce , do I have any rights to the house?

while we were married we bought a car, TV sets etc- that are all in my husbands name, are they half mine after the divorce?

I have moved to USA from Europe, dont work here, but have quite high income ( about 5 times higher than my husband) coming into his account. So a huge part of our expenses comes out my paychecks, house remodeling, cash for the car we bought ,financed his very expensive dental work and so on.

My husband cheated on me, so I am considering a divorce.
But I have invested a lot into our property and would not like to lose it all , just becouse everyhting seem to be in his name?

PS. I am in a process of getting a green card- should get it in about 8 months.
Please help.
Karo

[Silverplum]

A sexually transmitted disease, for one thing.

Originally Posted by karoline

What is the name of your state? CA

We have been married for 2 years now. My husband had a house before we married that is owned by his father and him ( for refinance reasons and my husbands bad credit)

in case we divorce , do I have any rights to the house?

while we were married we bought a car, TV sets etc- that are all in my husbands name, are they half mine after the divorce?

I have moved to USA from Europe, dont work here, but have quite high income ( about 5 times higher than my husband) coming into his account. So a huge part of our expenses comes out my paychecks, house remodeling, cash for the car we bought and so on.

My husband cheated on me, so I am considering a divorce.
But I have invested a lot into our property and would not like to lose it all , just becouse everyhting seem to be in his name?

PS. I am in a process of getting a green card- should get it in about 8 months.
Please help.
Karo

[LdiJ]

Well, if you want to remain in the US, then you probably better try to hang on to your marriage until you get your green card. If you don't care about remaining here then that isn't an issue.

You would be entitled to 25% (1/2 of your husband's share) of the home that accumulated during the marriage. The remodeling etc. you financed could easily be part of that accumulation.

You would also be entitled to 50% of any other assets that accumulated during the marriage. I can understand how a car could/would be in your husband's name, but how could a TV set etc. be in your husband's name? You would also be responsible for 50% of the debt that accumulated during the marriage.

Generally cars, TVs or anything that is being paid for on credit doesn't have any actual "value"....generally whoever keeps those items is responsible for the debt associated with those itmes. That can vary, but anything purchased in the last two years, on credit, isn't likely to have any equity.

[nextwife]

Originally Posted by LdiJ

Well, if you want to remain in the US, then you probably better try to hang on to your marriage until you get your green card. If you don't care about remaining here then that isn't an issue.

You would be entitled to 25% (1/2 of your husband's share) of the home that accumulated during the marriage. The remodeling etc. you financed could easily be part of that accumulation.

That is PRESUMING dad and his dad own the place equally. If they have unequal interests, this figure would not apply.

[LdiJ]

Originally Posted by nextwife

That is PRESUMING dad and his dad own the place equally. If they have unequal interests, this figure would not apply.

True, but the odds of there being any unequal interest in a home, in this kind of scenario, is quite slim. It would take some quite complicated and sophisticated legal maneuvers to avoid two owners of a property having a 50/50 interest. Its not very likely that a dad, helping his son, would resort to those maneuvers. Its possible, but not at all likely.

[karoline]

I understand about the house.

Since I dont have a right to work here, I dont have a documented income, still all the purchases we make using my husband account can be a subject to 50/50 in the divorce?


I will certainly try to stay in USA till I obtain my green card.

should I protect my interest in some ways for that period of time ( about 8 months) ?

[Bali Hai]

Originally Posted by karoline

I understand about the house.

Since I dont have a right to work here, I dont have a documented income, still all the purchases we make using my husband account can be a subject to 50/50 in the divorce?


I will certainly try to stay in USA till I obtain my green card.

should I protect my interest in some ways for that period of time ( about 8 months) ?

You may want to consider the consequences IF immigration discovers your fraud.

I suggest you thoroughly re-read your I-751 application to remove the temporary conditions on your US residency.

[karoline]

thanks,
what fraud do you mean .
I have entered this marriage in good faith and would have stayed married and never consider divorcing him, if I didnt realize he was cheating and spending my money on porn.

I really loved this man,still do I suppose, but not going to be misereable...

[tranquility]

If the mortgage was still executory on the home and the mortgage was paid with community property from a non-segregated account, you would be entitled to the equity of the house according to the proration rule.

(If the mortgage is still in effect.)
1. Take the *principal* reduction attributable to the expenditure of community property (CP) and divide it by the purchase price. This equals the Ratio Attributable to CP.

2. Take the value at the time of trial and subtract the purchase price. This equals Appreciation.

3. Multiply the Appreciation by the Ratio Attributable to CP. This equals the CP Interest in the Appreciation.

4. Add the principal reduction attributable to the expenditure of CP To the CP Interest in the Appreciation. This equals the Total CP Interest.

The spouse is entitled to 1/2 of the Total CP Interest.

This changes depending on the true ownership interest of the father.

[Bali Hai]

Originally Posted by karoline

thanks,
what fraud do you mean .
I have entered this marriage in good faith and would have stayed married and never consider divorcing him, if I didnt realize he was cheating and spending my money on porn.

I really loved this man,still do I suppose, but not going to be misereable...

I am not who you need to convince.

Be aware that immigration officials are much smarter than politically elected supreme court judges.

[AHA]

Originally Posted by karoline

thanks,
what fraud do you mean .
I have entered this marriage in good faith and would have stayed married and never consider divorcing him, if I didnt realize he was cheating and spending my money on porn.

I really loved this man,still do I suppose, but not going to be misereable...

The fraud being that you are staying married to this "cheater and spender" just so you can get permission to live in this country. Suspicious act when you file for divorce the day after getting a GC, I think so.

[LdiJ]

Originally Posted by AHA

The fraud being that you are staying married to this "cheater and spender" just so you can get permission to live in this country. Suspicious act when you file for divorce the day after getting a GC, I think so.

Not necessarily. That was a real issue twenty years back, when you could get a green card in just a couple of months (my ex got his less than 6 weeks after our wedding date) but its not as much of an issue today. If it can be demonstrated that a real marriage existed, the INS isn't all that concerned if the marriage fails shortly after the permanent GC is issued.

These days it takes as long to get a permanent GC, as it took my ex to get citizenship.