Seperate or Community?

[salazar40]

What is the name of your state?What is the name of your state?California

if spouseA works in SpouseB's seperate business, a bar with R.E.O., no pay taken for approximately two years, 1995-1997, then business is sold one month later. R.E.O. w/$62,000 t.d. retained as rental income until seperation in 4/2003 w/t.d. of $72,000. In 10/2003 R.E.O. refi@$100,000 then sold for $225,000 in 12/2003. SpouseA also contributed seperate contrib. for appraisals, taxes, etc.

Does SpouseA have any interest in SpouseB's asset or is it community?

[I AM ALWAYS LIABLE]

Originally Posted by salazar40

What is the name of your state?What is the name of your state?California

if spouseA works in SpouseB's seperate business, a bar with R.E.O., no pay taken for approximately two years, 1995-1997, then business is sold one month later. R.E.O. w/$62,000 t.d. retained as rental income until seperation in 4/2003 w/t.d. of $72,000. In 10/2003 R.E.O. refi@$100,000 then sold for $225,000 in 12/2003. SpouseA also contributed seperate contrib. for appraisals, taxes, etc.

Does SpouseA have any interest in SpouseB's asset or is it community?

My response:

It makes no difference that she worked there. Spouse "A" would still have a Community Property Interest in the "appreciated value" of the business since the date of marriage, up to the date that the terms of the property settlement were agreed upon and the decree of dissolution was signed by the judge. E.g., if a business is worth $100,000 on the date of marriage, and the business has appreciated to $400,000 on the date that the settlement agreement is signed, then she has an interest in the $300,000 appreciation. The exact amount can be negotiated, and based upon many other factors. However, all things being equal, she's probably entitled to 50%, or $150,000.

IAAL

[salazar40]

Originally Posted by I AM ALWAYS LIABLE

My response:

It makes no difference that she worked there. Spouse "A" would still have a Community Property Interest in the "appreciated value" of the business since the date of marriage, up to the date that the terms of the property settlement were agreed upon and the decree of dissolution was signed by the judge. E.g., if a business is worth $100,000 on the date of marriage, and the business has appreciated to $400,000 on the date that the settlement agreement is signed, then she has an interest in the $300,000 appreciation. The exact amount can be negotiated, and based upon many other factors. However, all things being equal, she's probably entitled to 50%, or $150,000.

IAAL

Thank you for your reply. I am In Pro Per and way out of my league as opposing has >30yrs. to my <0.

Not sure if the thread was clear enough, wondering what differences the following makes from your reply.
Date of Marriage = 9/95, Sale Date of "Bar" Business (liqour license, furniture & fixtures, inventory) = 9/97, Buyer signs 5 year lease and pays $1250/mo. rent to Spouse "B" with $50.00 increase each year, for use of R.E. (building and parking lot) = 10/97 until 12/03. Date of Separation = 4/03 (April Fool's Day, ha), Sale Date of Real Estate, Spouse "B" sold to same Buyer who purchased business in 1997 (2 lots, building on lot#1, parking lot on lot #2) = 12/03. Property taxes were paid by Spouse "A" with seperate property more than not, until date of seperation and community income paid one or two years. After original 1st mortage (see below) the R.E. was refinanced two more times during the marriage and once more after seperation about two months before Spouse "B" sold R.E. in 12/03. Spouse "A" signed a Quit Claim Deed in 4/00 after being phoned at work the day the loan closed. Spouse "B" asked Spouse "A" to leave work at lunch and come to the bank to sign loan documents. When Spouse "A" arrived at the bank a QCD was placed on the table and "B", in the presence of two loan officers, informed "A" the loan would not go through if the QCD was not signed right then. "A" complied not wanting to cause the loan to fall through and being embarrassed by the lack of privacy to discuss the matter with "B".
Other info: Spouse "B" acquired bar w/ R.E. as follows; 2/25/95 Spouse "B" has paternal Uncle execute "50% Joint Tenancy" (Uncle & Spouse "B") on Deed by holding his hand to sign, as Uncle is incapacitated from 3 strokes in 1 year and unable to speak, write, move, etc. The Uncle died 5 days later. There was also a Will and another Deed (to a property uncle did not own) all signed and notorized at the same time. The documents were contested in court and settled sometime in 1996. How the documents held up in court is beyond me but they did. Business income was used to pay attorney fees and costs for contested Will. Immediately after Uncle died, the Sales Tax Auditor came up with $13,000.00 due in underpaid sales taxes. Around the same time a lawsuit was filed by an attorney who represented a person that was involved in a car accident with the Uncle before he died. Uncle had suffered second stroke at this time, was not supposed to drive and had no insurance when he plowed into this other person. Spouse "B" took a 1st mortgage on R.E. to pay lawsuit and sales tax audit bills. A second lawsuit was filed by Spouse "B" against neighboring property owners for an easement allowing access for parking lot to bar. This lawsuit was not successful but it was expensive. Bar Business income was used to pay some of the attorney fees and the balance was satisfied by a lien placed on the sale of the bar by the attorney as Spouse "B" did not pay as agreed. A third lawsuit was filed by Buyer of bar business against Spouse "B" claiming "fraud" but was settled out of court. The amount of Bar Business sale = $50,000.00, of which $35,000.00 was carried by Spouse "B" in Promissory Notes. $25,000.00 of Spouse "B's" Promissory Notes were not paid as settlement of "Fraud" lawsuit. Then a fourth lawsuit was filed by Spouse "B" again against the neighboring property owners as they erected a fence on the property line making it next to impossible to use existing parking spaces for bar customers. Somebody paid for those attorney fees and costs but income was so clouded by this point, who knows. The $ most likely came from refinance #2/3.
What a mess! Spouse "A" had/has R.E. (residential)acquirred before marriage too. Of course Spouse "B" is after "A's" property but that can be another thread. Wouldn't wanta hurt ya IAAL. I'll be lucky if you don't delete my user name after this. Again, thank you so very much.

Sincerely, Salazar40

[LdiJ]

Originally Posted by salazar40

Thank you for your reply. I am In Pro Per and way out of my league as opposing has >30yrs. to my <0.

Not sure if the thread was clear enough, wondering what differences the following makes from your reply.
Date of Marriage = 9/95, Sale Date of "Bar" Business (liqour license, furniture & fixtures, inventory) = 9/97, Buyer signs 5 year lease and pays $1250/mo. rent to Spouse "B" with $50.00 increase each year, for use of R.E. (building and parking lot) = 10/97 until 12/03. Date of Separation = 4/03 (April Fool's Day, ha), Sale Date of Real Estate, Spouse "B" sold to same Buyer who purchased business in 1997 (2 lots, building on lot#1, parking lot on lot #2) = 12/03. Property taxes were paid by Spouse "A" with seperate property more than not, until date of seperation and community income paid one or two years. After original 1st mortage (see below) the R.E. was refinanced two more times during the marriage and once more after seperation about two months before Spouse "B" sold R.E. in 12/03. Spouse "A" signed a Quit Claim Deed in 4/00 after being phoned at work the day the loan closed. Spouse "B" asked Spouse "A" to leave work at lunch and come to the bank to sign loan documents. When Spouse "A" arrived at the bank a QCD was placed on the table and "B", in the presence of two loan officers, informed "A" the loan would not go through if the QCD was not signed right then. "A" complied not wanting to cause the loan to fall through and being embarrassed by the lack of privacy to discuss the matter with "B".
Other info: Spouse "B" acquired bar w/ R.E. as follows; 2/25/95 Spouse "B" has paternal Uncle execute "50% Joint Tenancy" (Uncle & Spouse "B") on Deed by holding his hand to sign, as Uncle is incapacitated from 3 strokes in 1 year and unable to speak, write, move, etc. The Uncle died 5 days later. There was also a Will and another Deed (to a property uncle did not own) all signed and notorized at the same time. The documents were contested in court and settled sometime in 1996. How the documents held up in court is beyond me but they did. Business income was used to pay attorney fees and costs for contested Will. Immediately after Uncle died, the Sales Tax Auditor came up with $13,000.00 due in underpaid sales taxes. Around the same time a lawsuit was filed by an attorney who represented a person that was involved in a car accident with the Uncle before he died. Uncle had suffered second stroke at this time, was not supposed to drive and had no insurance when he plowed into this other person. Spouse "B" took a 1st mortgage on R.E. to pay lawsuit and sales tax audit bills. A second lawsuit was filed by Spouse "B" against neighboring property owners for an easement allowing access for parking lot to bar. This lawsuit was not successful but it was expensive. Bar Business income was used to pay some of the attorney fees and the balance was satisfied by a lien placed on the sale of the bar by the attorney as Spouse "B" did not pay as agreed. A third lawsuit was filed by Buyer of bar business against Spouse "B" claiming "fraud" but was settled out of court. The amount of Bar Business sale = $50,000.00, of which $35,000.00 was carried by Spouse "B" in Promissory Notes. $25,000.00 of Spouse "B's" Promissory Notes were not paid as settlement of "Fraud" lawsuit. Then a fourth lawsuit was filed by Spouse "B" again against the neighboring property owners as they erected a fence on the property line making it next to impossible to use existing parking spaces for bar customers. Somebody paid for those attorney fees and costs but income was so clouded by this point, who knows. The $ most likely came from refinance #2/3.
What a mess! Spouse "A" had/has R.E. (residential)acquirred before marriage too. Of course Spouse "B" is after "A's" property but that can be another thread. Wouldn't wanta hurt ya IAAL. I'll be lucky if you don't delete my user name after this. Again, thank you so very much.

Sincerely, Salazar40

Honestly...unless you edit that whole post and put it into a readable format with paragraphs, you probably won 't get responses.