who owns what

[able mcfable]

What is the name of your state? alabama

My husband is incarcerated (again) and facing 25 years. We were not living together at the time of this last arrest but were not legally seperated. He has sold some property for legal fees (the property was his before we were married). Does he have to share the money he gets from the sale of assets with me? Can I move back into the house? Can I sell property too?

[mistoffolees]

Originally Posted by able mcfable

What is the name of your state? alabama

My husband is incarcerated (again) and facing 25 years. We were not living together at the time of this last arrest but were not legally seperated. He has sold some property for legal fees (the property was his before we were married). Does he have to share the money he gets from the sale of assets with me? Can I move back into the house? Can I sell property too?

It sounds like neither of you has filed for divorce. If that's the case, then either of you can sell items as you wish (except for any titled items like real estate or vehicles which have the other person's name on them).

If you file for divorce, then a number of rules come into play which would prevent either of you from squandering marital property. However, I think that paying legal expenses is a legitimate use of proceeds, so he'd be OK even if a divorce was pending.

Depending on the type of property, the fact that it was his before you married makes it even more complicated. AT BEST, you could hope for half of the gain in property value during the marriage, but only if it were mingled with marital assets.

[Ohiogal]

Actually she would not be awarded with any portion of the equity from what he sold to pay for legal fees. The look back is normally 6 months to a year and like you said legal fees is a good reason. A court is NOT going to go back through a marriage and determine every item. Of course if she sells off everything and then files for divorce she could be looking at problems depending on the reason of why the stuff was sold.