wills and divorce

[iamme04]

What is the name of your state?nc

i am not divorced yet, only separated. can i do ahead and change my will and have my husband taken out of it. or is it better since we aren't divorced yet to change the deed to my house (i owned it before we were married and it is only in my name ) and add my daughter to it. my bank accounts are set up with my daughter with surviorship to her.

[BelizeBreeze]

You can change your will at any time. However, if you change it now and die before the divorce, it won't make much difference.

North Carolina is an "equitable distribution" state. Separate property, including: (1) any property acquired before the marriage; (2) any gifts and inheritances acquired during the marriage; (3) any property acquired in exchange for separate property; and (4) any increase in the value of separate property, will be retained by the spouse who owns it.

Marital property (property acquired by either or both spouses during the marriage and before the separation, including any pension or retirement fund benefits) will be divided equally unless the court finds that an equal division is not fair.

The division is based on the following factors: (1) any direct or indirect contributions to the career or education of the other spouse; (2) any depletion or waste of property; (3) the net value of the property; (4) the liquid or non-liquid character of the property; (5) the contribution of each spouse to the acquisition of the marital property, including the contribution of each spouse as homemaker; (6) the economic circumstances of each spouse at the time the division of property is to become effective; (7) any increase or decrease in the value of the separate property of the spouse during the marriage or the depletion of the separate property for marital purposes; (8) the length of the marriage; (9) the age and health of the spouses; (10) the federal income tax consequences of the court's division of the property; (11) liabilities of the spouses; (12) any retirement benefits, including social security, civil service, military and railroad retirement benefits; (13) any prior alimony or child support obligations of each spouse; (14) the desirability of the spouse with custody of any children occupying the marital residence; and (15) any other factor necessary to do equity and justice between the spouses. [General Statutes of North Carolina; Chapter 50, Section 50-20].

Based on the citation, although the home is yours, any increase in value during the term of the marriage is considered marital property. Therefore, if you alter title to the home now, the court could interpret that as attempting to divert interest in the property which is subject ot division.

My advice is to seek advice from a local divorce attorney because this is not something you want to be playing around with.

[iamme04]

Originally Posted by BelizeBreeze

You can change your will at any time. However, if you change it now and die before the divorce, it won't make much difference.

North Carolina is an "equitable distribution" state. Separate property, including: (1) any property acquired before the marriage; (2) any gifts and inheritances acquired during the marriage; (3) any property acquired in exchange for separate property; and (4) any increase in the value of separate property, will be retained by the spouse who owns it.

Marital property (property acquired by either or both spouses during the marriage and before the separation, including any pension or retirement fund benefits) will be divided equally unless the court finds that an equal division is not fair.

The division is based on the following factors: (1) any direct or indirect contributions to the career or education of the other spouse; (2) any depletion or waste of property; (3) the net value of the property; (4) the liquid or non-liquid character of the property; (5) the contribution of each spouse to the acquisition of the marital property, including the contribution of each spouse as homemaker; (6) the economic circumstances of each spouse at the time the division of property is to become effective; (7) any increase or decrease in the value of the separate property of the spouse during the marriage or the depletion of the separate property for marital purposes; (8) the length of the marriage; (9) the age and health of the spouses; (10) the federal income tax consequences of the court's division of the property; (11) liabilities of the spouses; (12) any retirement benefits, including social security, civil service, military and railroad retirement benefits; (13) any prior alimony or child support obligations of each spouse; (14) the desirability of the spouse with custody of any children occupying the marital residence; and (15) any other factor necessary to do equity and justice between the spouses. [General Statutes of North Carolina; Chapter 50, Section 50-20].

Based on the citation, although the home is yours, any increase in value during the term of the marriage is considered marital property. Therefore, if you alter title to the home now, the court could interpret that as attempting to divert interest in the property which is subject ot division.

My advice is to seek advice from a local divorce attorney because this is not something you want to be playing around with.

when we separated we bought a house for him. in the separation agreement it states that he gets that house and i get my house. we were told that the separation agreement would go along with the divorce and that would be what was settled on. he already gave up his right to my 401K and stocks.
my will states at the moment that he would get half my house and that is what i am trying to avoid if something were to happen to me. that is why i thought of adding my daughter (age 22) to the deed to my house, so that if something would happen to me then he wouldn't get half of it before we were divorced.
i guess i was just looking for the simplest way to protect my assets.

[BelizeBreeze]

Originally Posted by iamme04

when we separated we bought a house for him. in the separation agreement it states that he gets that house and i get my house. we were told that the separation agreement would go along with the divorce and that would be what was settled on. he already gave up his right to my 401K and stocks.
my will states at the moment that he would get half my house and that is what i am trying to avoid if something were to happen to me. that is why i thought of adding my daughter (age 22) to the deed to my house, so that if something would happen to me then he wouldn't get half of it before we were divorced.
i guess i was just looking for the simplest way to protect my assets.

Well, how does CHANGE YOUR WILL sound?