Do I Need an Attorney

[confusedinNLV]

What is the name of your state? Nevada
My boyfriend and I have lived together for 10 years. We have both joint and separate debts and assets. The problem is this. 3 months ago his (ex) wife filed a petition for divorce in our home state. We were both blown away by this because we thought he was divorced in Germany 13 years ago. He has two sets of legal documents but they are in German. After hiring an attorney and having the documents translated, we were told they were (1)a petition for divorce and (2)an order for alimony and child support payments,but the divorce was never finalized.
That being said, we just want to get the divorce finalized ASAP, but she wants half of everything that he and I have worked our butts off for the last 10 years. Do I have any legal rights? We have a home and a car that were purchased jointly, as well as joint credit cards. Do I need a lawyer?What is the name of your state? Nevada

[Gracie3787]

Originally Posted by confusedinNLV

What is the name of your state? Nevada
My boyfriend and I have lived together for 10 years. We have both joint and separate debts and assets. The problem is this. 3 months ago his (ex) wife filed a petition for divorce in our home state. We were both blown away by this because we thought he was divorced in Germany 13 years ago. He has two sets of legal documents but they are in German. After hiring an attorney and having the documents translated, we were told they were (1)a petition for divorce and (2)an order for alimony and child support payments,but the divorce was never finalized.
That being said, we just want to get the divorce finalized ASAP, but she wants half of everything that he and I have worked our butts off for the last 10 years. Do I have any legal rights? We have a home and a car that were purchased jointly, as well as joint credit cards. Do I need a lawyer?What is the name of your state? Nevada

Your boyfriend NEEDS an attorney ASAP.

He will need one to figure out this whole mess, especially when a support order was issued, he could find himself thousands of dollars in debt, in addition to not being divorced as he believed.

[confusedinNLV]

Thank you Gracie. He has a lawyer but do I need one? The wife is claiming that all assets are marital property. Most of his assets are owned by him and me jointly.

[garrula lingua]

If she filed in Nevada, the actual date of separation should be used as the end of their 'community' (assets and debts).

There may still be a problem if they owned a house, stocks, or accounts that appreciated, but the date of separation should be easily provable.

[LdiJ]

Originally Posted by garrula lingua

If she filed in Nevada, the actual date of separation should be used as the end of their 'community' (assets and debts).

There may still be a problem if they owned a house, stocks, or accounts that appreciated, but the date of separation should be easily provable.

I agree, any attorney worth their salt should be able to successfully argue that the German paperwork is proof of when they separated.

Also, as far as any assets that are owned jointly by the two of you, your half of those assets would still be protected even in a worst case scenario. No judge would have authority to allow any claim against your half of the assets.

However, it might not be a bad idea to get your own attorney to help you protect your assets.