Divorce Financial Question

Ok I'm going to keep the explaining to the minimum and try to get to the point. Basically, my dad is a lazy lowlife who hates to work and has a bad temper. My mom's been wanting to divorce him for a long time but because she listened to him a while back and passed up a good job opportunity, she can't afford to divorce him. Recently, my grandpa said he'd put in his will his house and some money for her. Problem is, she'd have to wait for this before she can get a divorce and therefore she'd probably be forced to sell the house and give half of everything to him. The thing is, she wants to prevent this because he's such a loser that he'll just waste the money when we'd actually put it to good use. He seriously doesn't deserve anything because he's sat around for years while my mom has worked 12 hour days 7 days a week to support us and I've also worked full time since I've been able to. Right now I'm 20 years old and we live in California.

Now for the question - She wanted to know if she has my grandpa leave the house and money to me, will my dad get any of it when she gets a divorce? The plan would be to have him leave it to me, I'll use it to pay for her divorce, and then once they are divorced, I'd give it to her or keep it but give her full access to it.

Thanks.

Inheritance is separate property as long as your mother does not comingle it with marital assets.

JusticeAdvice said:

Ok I'm going to keep the explaining to the minimum and try to get to the point. Basically, my dad is a lazy lowlife who hates to work and has a bad temper. My mom's been wanting to divorce him for a long time but because she listened to him a while back and passed up a good job opportunity, she can't afford to divorce him. Recently, my grandpa said he'd put in his will his house and some money for her. Problem is, she'd have to wait for this before she can get a divorce and therefore she'd probably be forced to sell the house and give half of everything to him. The thing is, she wants to prevent this because he's such a loser that he'll just waste the money when we'd actually put it to good use. He seriously doesn't deserve anything because he's sat around for years while my mom has worked 12 hour days 7 days a week to support us and I've also worked full time since I've been able to. Right now I'm 20 years old and we live in California.

Now for the question - She wanted to know if she has my grandpa leave the house and money to me, will my dad get any of it when she gets a divorce? The plan would be to have him leave it to me, I'll use it to pay for her divorce, and then once they are divorced, I'd give it to her or keep it but give her full access to it.

Thanks.

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An inheritance or gift is separate property and remains separate property as long as it is not comingled with marital property. Therefore, as long as your mother keeps any money or property she gets from your grandfather, in just her own name, she will NOT have to share it with your father.

JusticeAdvice said:

Now for the question - She wanted to know if she has my grandpa leave the house and money to me, will my dad get any of it when she gets a divorce? The plan would be to have him leave it to me, I'll use it to pay for her divorce, and then once they are divorced, I'd give it to her or keep it but give her full access to it.

Thanks.

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As Ohiogal says, if grandpa leaves it to your mother and she never mingles it with marital assets, your father can't have any of it. HOWEVER, if your mother has been the sole source of support for the family, she may well end up paying alimony. While judges are not supposed to consider separate property in setting alimony or division of marital property, they sometimes do.

Your other proposed plan is going to create problems. When you give the house back to your mother, it creates a taxable event and there will be some gift tax due (possibly quite a bit). In addition, while I'm sure you're a completely loyal son, there's no guarantee that it will be used the way your mother wants. More importantly, you're at an age where auto accidents are common. Make sure your auto insurance is high enough that the house wouldn't get taken if you have an accident.

I also question the basic premise that she can't afford a divorce. She can't afford a divorce, but she can afford to work 80 hours per week to support a deadbeat? The divorce might be cheaper. There is, of course, the problem that CA is alimony crazy.

She really needs to talk with an attorney to go over all the options. I'm not personally a big believer in 'I'd like to divorce him/her but I can't afford it so I'll wait until......". If you don't want to be married, getting a divorce sooner rather than later is usually better.

As for the house, have her talk to the attorney about a trust. That might be the solution.

Got it, I recommended that she talk to an attorney soon. By comingle, I'm assuming that you guys mean spend on family bills and stuff like that? Can she use the inherited assets at all or would she have to get a divorce first to prevent "co-mingling?" Thanks a lot.

JusticeAdvice said:

Got it, I recommended that she talk to an attorney soon. By comingle, I'm assuming that you guys mean spend on family bills and stuff like that? Can she use the inherited assets at all or would she have to get a divorce first to prevent "co-mingling?" Thanks a lot.

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No, that is not at all what we mean.

An example of comingle would be that she inherits 20k in cash from her father and deposits it into a joint bank account into which her paycheck gets deposited and the bills are paid.

An example of NOT comingling is if she takes that 20k and deposits it into an account in JUST her name. If she then takes 5k out of that account and deposits it into the joint account to pay bills, then the remaining 15k is NOT comingled. However, if she also deposits her paycheck into that separate account, then it gets more complicated. The asset that needs to be separate should never be combined with any marital asset.

Another example: She inherits the same 20k plus a house. She again deposits the 20k in a bank account in only her name, and makes sure that the deed to the house is in her name only. She pays the property taxes and any other expenses regarding the house (repairs etc.) from the separate bank account. The house therefore, is NOT comingled.

Another example: She inherits a house but no cash. She uses her regular income to pay the property taxes and other expenses of the house (ie again repairs). The value of the house when she inherited it is separate property, but any increase in the equity of the home after she inherited it is marital property.

So, as you can see, in some ways its kind of simple, and in some ways its kind of complicated.

That was a great explanation. Thanks a lot!

mistoffolees said:

As Ohiogal says, if grandpa leaves it to your mother and she never mingles it with marital assets, your father can't have any of it. HOWEVER, if your mother has been the sole source of support for the family, she may well end up paying alimony. While judges are not supposed to consider separate property in setting alimony or division of marital property, they sometimes do.

Not correct.

http://www.courtinfo.ca.gov/selfhelp/family/support/documents/spousalsup.pdf

Your other proposed plan is going to create problems. When you give the house back to your mother, it creates a taxable event and there will be some gift tax due (possibly quite a bit). In addition, while I'm sure you're a completely loyal son, there's no guarantee that it will be used the way your mother wants. More importantly, you're at an age where auto accidents are common. Make sure your auto insurance is high enough that the house wouldn't get taken if you have an accident.

I also question the basic premise that she can't afford a divorce. She can't afford a divorce, but she can afford to work 80 hours per week to support a deadbeat? The divorce might be cheaper. There is, of course, the problem that CA is alimony crazy.

She really needs to talk with an attorney to go over all the options. I'm not personally a big believer in 'I'd like to divorce him/her but I can't afford it so I'll wait until......". If you don't want to be married, getting a divorce sooner rather than later is usually better.

As for the house, have her talk to the attorney about a trust. That might be the solution.

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OP's mother should plan on paying lifetime alimony under the circumstances and length of the marriage.

Bali Hai said:

OP's mother should plan on paying lifetime alimony under the circumstances and length of the marriage.

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Bali, you have no idea how long they have been married, you just know that they have an adult son. You also don't know what the husband's earning capacity might be.

You don't know how much the wife makes either.

LdiJ said:

Bali, you have no idea how long they have been married, you just know that they have an adult son. You also don't know what the husband's earning capacity might be.

You don't know how much the wife makes either.

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Quote from OP:

"He seriously doesn't deserve anything because he's sat around for years while my mom has worked 12 hour days 7 days a week to support us"

I know this much:

This scenario would NOT stop a CA judge from hammering a husband with lifetime alimony and it shouldn't stop a CA judge from hammering a wife with lifetime alimony.

As you've told me many many times, "the law is gender neutral".

While I agree with that for the most part, the judge is many many times NOT gender neutral. That's the only factor that will keep OP's mother's hard earned money in her own pocket in this case.