Property awarded that was not marital.

I live in missouri... I am a 24 year old male who recently recieved some disturbing news. My property was awarded to my stepfather in his/my mothers divorce. I was wondering if there is any legal action i can take against this (simply put) stupid decision. There was also a vehicle that was awarded my mother. This vehicle is mine and has always been in my name. I purchased it after the separation. I think however the monetary value of said vehicle effected the outcome. In other words is there anything i can do to get this ammended as i think it would change the decision of the court dramatically.

How is it YOUR property? Were you in title? Please explain how the car in your name (paid by you?)was determined to be marital property?

Wolfjones said:

I live in missouri... I am a 24 year old male who recently recieved some disturbing news. My property was awarded to my stepfather in his/my mothers divorce. I was wondering if there is any legal action i can take against this (simply put) stupid decision. There was also a vehicle that was awarded my mother. This vehicle is mine and has always been in my name. I purchased it after the separation. I think however the monetary value of said vehicle effected the outcome. In other words is there anything i can do to get this ammended as i think it would change the decision of the court dramatically.

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What property of yours was awarded to your stepfather? How in the world did your mother let assets that belonged to you get included in their divorce?

Sounds to me like mom "sold" stuff to her son after the separation but before the divorce.
That's a no-no. Your mother will be required to either 1) cause the title of the vehicle to be transferred to her ex, or 2) pay the fair market value of the vehicle to the ex. These things will be decided by the court if ya'll can't figure it out on your own.

Zigner said:

Sounds to me like mom "sold" stuff to her son after the separation but before the divorce. .

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I suspect that it is more complicated than that - since he claims that the car was ALWAYS in his name.

Seems to me that he's going to need to provide more information. Who signed the paperwork at the dealer, whose name is on the title, whose name is on the loan documents (if any), and who actually paid the loan (not where the money originated, but who wrote the check), and so on.

In the simplest scenario (that he purchased the car himself from a third party and SF had absolutely no involvement at all), he should be able to petition the court to change the judgment. Of course, depending on the age of the car, this might cost more than it's worth (since the divorce terms will also presumably need to be decided again), so he might be better off working it out with his mother if it's an older, less valuable car.

mistoffolees said:

I suspect that it is more complicated than that - since he claims that the car was ALWAYS in his name.

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Read again:

Wolfjones said:

This vehicle is mine and has always been in my name. I purchased it after the separation.

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Ok, I just read it again...
IF the OP didn't purchase it from his mom (as I originally understood), then nothing needs to be done actually. A person cannot transfer something that is not theirs...and son isn't a party to the proceedings. HE can't petition the court to change anything in that order. Mom will have to do that.

Zigner said:

IF the OP didn't purchase it from his mom (as I originally understood), then nothing needs to be done actually. A person cannot transfer something that is not theirs...and son isn't a party to the proceedings. HE can't petition the court to change anything in that order. Mom will have to do that.

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Of course. His mother is the one who has a problem. For example, if the decree says that the SF gets a 2001 Honda Accord (just to pick a car at random) and it's in the son's name so he doesn't legally have to transfer it, the mother is going to have to fix the problem. But that may mean reopening the entire divorce proceeding which will cost her quite a bit. Or giving the SF a 2001 Honda Accord, which would also be expensive.

I suspect there's more here that we're not being told. If the car was purchased by the son after the separation and it was always in his name and he always paid the payments, I'm having a hard time understanding why the court would give it to the SF. Sure, there are court blunders, but this one doesn't seem likely - which is why I asked for the additional information above.

Sounds like someone may not have been paying as close attention to the details as they should have.

My X tried to include my children's trust funds as part of 'marital' assets. I could prove that NO marital assets were ever used to fund those accounts. Therefore, my lawyer had to make his lawyer "fix" the numbers. In this case, it was also the case of a step-father trying to enrich himself.

Ginny J said:

Sounds like someone may not have been paying as close attention to the details as they should have.

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I agree that this is most likely the case.

Lost

OK first things first. The truck was bought by me after the separation. I have no clue as to how it came to be included in the marital property. I got the loan in my name only. Titled in my name only unless you include the P.O.D, which was to my mother. Seeing how I am not dead I dont think there is any reason for it to be considered marital property.
I think the judge just split things based on monetary value and seeing how the truck was worth about 10 grand I think that my mother got the short end by being awarded something that was not marital property to begin with.
The other thing is a little more difficult. My stepfather was awarded my horse. Yes the horse was put in my name after the separation. I couldnt afford the membership dues at the time. This is where it gets hairy... he did pay for the horse with the verbal agreement that if I would care for the whole heard while he was away at work the horse would be mine. He payed for the horse out of his\my mothers joint account. When things started going south between me and my stepfather(this was before the difficulties with my mother and himself) I paid for the horse. I am sure my mother has records of where i deposited the proper amounts into her/his bank account. While they were still getting along. The horse is in my name and has been since march of 2007.
I am more worried about my mother having to pay him for the horse that is my property than i am about the truck. The truck is totalled now . All i would be interested in is getting those two things totally out of the divorce papers . Because I think that they both effected the outcome. I think the reason the judge decided in this manner is my mother did not have the money to hire a lawyer at the time because the fool ran her in the hole to begin with. I still think there should be a cheap way to ammend it seeing as how both of these things are and were mine to begin with. The only reason I am worried about the truck is because of its monetary value and how things were supposedly split 50/50. Without the truck in the picture i think the outcome may have been different... or more on the fair side. And for those of you who are thinking the mother may have sold the stuff that is totally innaccurate seeing as how she could have put everything in my name ie. horse trailer, her 95 dodge, his toyota, everything. I just think the two things that were actually and honestly mine should be left out of it. I didnt realize that this would happen this way if you think something should have been done about it sooner. I dont think my mother knew either. Sorry for the rant I am a little upset and still wondering who to talk to or what to do. I am sure this kind of thing has happened before. I am not wealthy by any means, and there should be a way for me the owner to have a say without costing one of my legs.

Stepfathers enriching

Well Ginneyj, I think that the whole relationship, marriage, and divorce was him trying to enrich himself.

Your mom needs to get a lawyer. However, she's fighting an uphill battle with an 89 degree slope.

Zigner

So your saying its out of my hands then? If so I am wondering then if a public defender could do it or if It would be worth the time and dollars to hire a lawyer. I mean either way I dont know what the next step is. If i cant do anything about it (the system is kinda strange) but then what would be my mothers next step? An appeal? I have no clue what that even is.

More sides to the story

Of course there is a lot more involved than just what I have mentioned but I was just wondering if I had any legal rights or actions I could take concerning my property.

Here's the deal. If YOU own the property, with clear title, then it's no problem. The car sounds like a straight-forward thing. Your MOM may have to pay for the supposed equity of the car...or she can seek the services of an attorney to have the judgment modified (if possible). In any case, the car is YOURS.

The horse is a much "cloudier" issue. Again, an ATTORNEY will be able to figure it out. Why is it "cloudier", because it's beginning to seem as if your mom was transferring assets in anticipation of the upcoming divorce. Courts can see through that.


You have NO standing in this matter though. You were not a party to the case.