MT Common Law Couple, own house & splitting

[RCallison]

I live in Montana, which is a common law state. Me and the the guy have been together for 8 years. We bought a house together 5 years ago. Originally he and his parents were on the mortgage and deed; two years ago we refinanced and my name was added to the motgage with his and his parents dropped from the mortgage, however the deed was not changed.

Now that I want to separate and he does not I need to know how I can get what is rightfully mine i.e. 1/2 of the equity in the house which I estimate at $30,000.

Is there a contract that can be drawn up stating that he must pay me (the amount agreeded upon after appraisal) with in a certain time frame like 12 months, regardless if he sells the home, refinances w/ a loan or just gets the money from his parents. I also would like his Mom to be a co-signer so that if he decides not to follow through I can guarantee the money will be paid to me within the agreed upon time frame.

Thank you for your help.

RCallison

[LdiJ]

Originally Posted by RCallison

I live in Montana, which is a common law state. Me and the the guy have been together for 8 years. We bought a house together 5 years ago. Originally he and his parents were on the mortgage and deed; two years ago we refinanced and my name was added to the motgage with his and his parents dropped from the mortgage, however the deed was not changed.

Now that I want to separate and he does not I need to know how I can get what is rightfully mine i.e. 1/2 of the equity in the house which I estimate at $30,000.

Is there a contract that can be drawn up stating that he must pay me (the amount agreeded upon after appraisal) with in a certain time frame like 12 months, regardless if he sells the home, refinances w/ a loan or just gets the money from his parents. I also would like his Mom to be a co-signer so that if he decides not to follow through I can guarantee the money will be paid to me within the agreed upon time frame.

Thank you for your help.

RCallison

If he is willing to sign such a contract, it would be enforceable. However, do not expect his mother to agree to cosign.

[TinkerBelleLuvr]

Originally Posted by RCallison

I live in Montana, which is a common law state. Me and the the guy have been together for 8 years. We bought a house together 5 years ago. Originally he and his parents were on the mortgage and deed; two years ago we refinanced and my name was added to the motgage with his and his parents dropped from the mortgage, however the deed was not changed.

Now that I want to separate and he does not I need to know how I can get what is rightfully mine i.e. 1/2 of the equity in the house which I estimate at $30,000.

Is there a contract that can be drawn up stating that he must pay me (the amount agreeded upon after appraisal) with in a certain time frame like 12 months, regardless if he sells the home, refinances w/ a loan or just gets the money from his parents. I also would like his Mom to be a co-signer so that if he decides not to follow through I can guarantee the money will be paid to me within the agreed upon time frame.

Thank you for your help.

RCallison

You could ask for that as part of the DIVORCE. You don't just split up; you have to get a divorce.

[Ohiogal]

Originally Posted by RCallison

Now that I want to separate and he does not I need to know how I can get what is rightfully mine i.e. 1/2 of the equity in the house which I estimate at $30,000.

You are NOT entitled to 1/2 the equity in the house. What makes you think you are? You are entitled to HALF of the marital interest in the house which is apparently 1/3 of the equity.

Originally he and his parents were on the mortgage and deed; two years ago we refinanced and my name was added to the motgage with his and his parents dropped from the mortgage, however the deed was not changed.

The house is owned by three people -- your husband and his parents. Those are the people on the deed.

So 1/2 of 1/3 is 1/6. So you would be entitled to $10k at the most (using your figure that HALF the equity is $30000 and therefore the entire equity is $60000). You need to start understanding that. You also need to realize that you are entitled to NONE of the parents' share. Nor are you entitled to make demands that his mother will cosign. You are NOT married to his mother. You are married to him. The marital contract is with him! If he doesn't follow through on what the divorce court orders then you take him back for contempt. This is provided of course that you are married -- living together is NOT marriage whether or not you are in a common law state. So what proof do you have that you are married.

If you are not married you may not be able to get ANY equity.

[Ohiogal]

Originally Posted by LdiJ

If he is willing to sign such a contract, it would be enforceable. However, do not expect his mother to agree to cosign.

He cannot promise her something that he does not have. He does NOT have 1/2 the equity in the house to give her. 1/2 the equity is NOT marital property.

[Ohiogal]

Originally Posted by Ginny J

You could ask for that as part of the DIVORCE. You don't just split up; you have to get a divorce.

If they are common law married. ALL this poster has stated is that they have LIVED together for 8 years. Living together does NOT a common law marriage make.

[TinkerBelleLuvr]

Heck, I know that. but, the OP hasn't been back to question on WHY she thinks she is common-law married.

If she did the usual stuff, like file a joint return, state that she is married, etc, etc, then I stand by the answer that she needs a divorce.

[Farfalla]

Originally Posted by Ohiogal

If they are common law married. ALL this poster has stated is that they have LIVED together for 8 years. Living together does NOT a common law marriage make.

Exactly... but she used common law in the title. So that's where the poster got the idea that a divorce is needed.

[TheGeekess]

Originally Posted by Farfalla

Exactly... but she used common law in the title. So that's where the poster got the idea that a divorce is needed.

Many use the words "common law marriage" but few know what it entails... or where it's even legally recognized.

[Ohiogal]

Originally Posted by Farfalla

Exactly... but she used common law in the title. So that's where the poster got the idea that a divorce is needed.

That is NOT good enough. When someone says common law marriage NO ONE should immediately jump to agreement with it.

Heck, I know that. but, the OP hasn't been back to question on WHY she thinks she is common-law married.

If she did the usual stuff, like file a joint return, state that she is married, etc, etc, then I stand by the answer that she needs a divorce.

I know you know that but OP most likely does not know that. If she has fulfilled the common law requirements then yes she needs a divorce. And then she will be entitled to 1/6 of the equity in the property most likely (of course that depends on the fact that the deed was JTWRS and not TIC with spouse getting a specified percentage in which case she is entitled to 1/2 of that specified percentage most likely).

If not married then she is not entitled to anything. She would have to file a partition suit to force him to take her name off the house and that would cost a lot of money -- more than the 10k that she may be eligible for if they were married.

[LdiJ]

Originally Posted by Ohiogal

He cannot promise her something that he does not have. He does NOT have 1/2 the equity in the house to give her. 1/2 the equity is NOT marital property.

You are right. His parent are still on the deed. Although I do not grasp at all how mortgage companies allow that to happen.

[Ohiogal]

Originally Posted by LdiJ

You are right. His parent are still on the deed. Although I do not grasp at all how mortgage companies allow that to happen.

I have no clue why they would. Except for the fact that they have someone who most likely can afford to pay.

[seniorjudge]

Originally Posted by RCallison

...
We bought a house together 5 years ago. Originally he and his parents were on the mortgage and deed; two years ago we refinanced and my name was added to the motgage with his and his parents dropped from the mortgage, however the deed was not changed.
...

I've seen mortgage companies do a lot of weird things...but this is really hard to believe.

[TinkerBelleLuvr]

I had the flip-side of this. My X was on the mortgage, but NOT on the deed. Yes, I did refinance and take him off the mortgage after the divorce.

[seniorjudge]

Originally Posted by Ginny J

I had the flip-side of this. My X was on the mortgage, but NOT on the deed. Yes, I did refinance and take him off the mortgage after the divorce.

Actually, that is very common.

The reverse is not.