transfer of Funds before Divorce

[jimmysoul]

Maryland

My wife is threating to file divorce as she knows how much $ I have in bank, 401K & stocks, cars etc. My estimated value is $120K..we live separately with no children. How can I move my funds so that she doesn't get what she thinks (50% of assets etc). I have siblings who I can deposit my 4 to their account.

Can I open an LLC & move funds there? do should I completely transfer $ out of my name?

 

[Just Blue]

Maryland

My wife is threating to file divorce as she knows how much $ I have in bank, 401K & stocks, cars etc. My estimated value is $120K..we live separately with no children. How can I move my funds so that she doesn't get what she thinks (50% of assets etc). I have siblings who I can deposit my 4 to their account.

Can I open an LLC & move funds there? do should I completely transfer $ out of my name?

No one on this site is going to help you hide assets.

 

[Ohiogal]

Maryland

My wife is threating to file divorce as she knows how much $ I have in bank, 401K & stocks, cars etc. My estimated value is $120K..we live separately with no children. How can I move my funds so that she doesn't get what she thinks (50% of assets etc). I have siblings who I can deposit my 4 to their account.

Can I open an LLC & move funds there? do should I completely transfer $ out of my name?

So you want to commit a crime.. Sorry.. All your assets co8uld be considered marital property if they were bought or acquired during the marriage. If you transfer them out within a year of her filing, then you and the person to whom you transfer them could be found liable for fraud. But continue on...

 

[LdiJ]

Maryland

My wife is threating to file divorce as she knows how much $ I have in bank, 401K & stocks, cars etc. My estimated value is $120K..we live separately with no children. How can I move my funds so that she doesn't get what she thinks (50% of assets etc). I have siblings who I can deposit my 4 to their account.

Can I open an LLC & move funds there? do should I completely transfer $ out of my name?

If you try to play those kinds of tricks you will find that many judges will end up awarding your wife MORE than 50% of the marital assets, just because you tried to do that. Seriously, many people have tried things like that and it does not work. You will just have to accept that your wife is going to get half of the marital assets (and will also be responsible for half of the marital debt).

Now, there are certain things that do not count as marital assets. Those are assets owned before the marriage (and have not been comingled) and any gifts or inheritances (again, that have not been comingled). If you are truly able to break out portions of comingled assets into premarital and marital, it can be possible to save premarital assets that have been comingled.

 

[zddoodah]

You can do all sorts of things to try and conceal assets. However, in the event of a divorce, you will be obligated, on penalty of perjury, to disclose your assets. If you fail to make full disclosure, you risk an unpleasant division of assets, fines, and/or jail time.

Consult with a local family law attorney for advice.

 

[Taxing Matters]

How can I move my funds so that she doesn't get what she thinks (50% of assets etc).

Well, for starters you need to accept that in a divorce the marital assets are indeed generally split 50% each. Indeed, federal law protects her interest in your retirement accounts (e.g. 401(k)) and you'll not be able to transfer that anyway. You'll need to make a full disclosure of assets you have and transfers made under penalty of perjury. If you lie and the lie is discovered, you can face a variety of sanctions and consequences, including an even worse division of assets, civil penalties and/or criminal prosecution. Courts don't like spouses playing the kind of games you suggest to cheat their spouses out of their share of marital assets.

Note, too, that with the relatively low amount of assets at issue here ($120K) the legal battle you spark by doing this likely will lose you more of your assets to lawyers than you might save in trying to hide things. I've seen plenty of situations in which feuding spouses were so intent on keeping the other from getting a dime that they threw away a fortune to lawyers in the process and in the end each wound up with a lot less than if they had just done a straight up split of stuff from the start.

What you should do is consult a family law attorney for advice on how best to come out of the divorce with the best financial outcome.

 

[Ohiogal]

Well, for starters you need to accept that in a divorce the marital assets are indeed generally split 50% each. Indeed, federal law protects her interest in your retirement accounts (e.g. 401(k)) and you'll not be able to transfer that anyway. You'll need to make a full disclosure of assets you have and transfers made under penalty of perjury. If you lie and the lie is discovered, you can face a variety of sanctions and consequences, including an even worse division of assets, civil penalties and/or criminal prosecution. Courts don't like spouses playing the kind of games you suggest to cheat their spouses out of their share of marital assets.

Note, too, that with the relatively low amount of assets at issue here ($120K) the legal battle you spark by doing this likely will lose you more of your assets to lawyers than you might save in trying to hide things. I've seen plenty of situations in which feuding spouses were so intent on keeping the other from getting a dime that they threw away a fortune to lawyers in the process and in the end each wound up with a lot less than if they had just done a straight up split of stuff from the start.

What you should do is consult a family law attorney for advice on how best to come out of the divorce with the best financial outcome.

The best part is if he sparks the argument, is found to have done so by hiding assets, has to pay his wife's attorney fees and she ends up with EVERYTHING he has left after paying for the legal fight and his wife's fees. Because that happens and can happen here.

 

[not2cleverRed]

Maryland

My wife is threating to file divorce as she knows how much $ I have in bank, 401K & stocks, cars etc. My estimated value is $120K..we live separately with no children. How can I move my funds so that she doesn't get what she thinks (50% of assets etc). I have siblings who I can deposit my 4 to their account.

Can I open an LLC & move funds there? do should I completely transfer $ out of my name?

First, you should determine what portion of your assets are marital assets. Just because she thinks all your assets are marital assets doesn't mean that they are. Get the legal definitions straight before you freak out and do stupid misguided things. If it's a marital asset, don't hide it; if it's a separate asset (not marital), it's not relevant to the divorce.

 

[jimmysoul]

Thanks for detail replies.

I was given $100K by parents to buy house 3 yrs ago, which was 6 months before marriage. I refinanced the mortgage 2x under my name only after marriage. My spouse has been violent & abusive from the beginning of our marriage. She left on her own. Like a deserter.
It would hurt to take 50% of that house. I have all checks from parent to prove it was gift money etc

 

[Taxing Matters]

Thanks for detail replies.

I was given $100K by parents to buy house 3 yrs ago, which was 6 months before marriage. I refinanced the mortgage 2x under my name only after marriage. My spouse has been violent & abusive from the beginning of our marriage. She left on her own. Like a deserter.
It would hurt to take 50% of that house. I have all checks from parent to prove it was gift money etc

Then you may be able to successfully argue that that home is not marital property. Talk to a family law attorney about that.

 

[Ohiogal]

Thanks for detail replies.

I was given $100K by parents to buy house 3 yrs ago, which was 6 months before marriage. I refinanced the mortgage 2x under my name only after marriage. My spouse has been violent & abusive from the beginning of our marriage. She left on her own. Like a deserter.
It would hurt to take 50% of that house. I have all checks from parent to prove it was gift money etc

How was the mortgage paid during the marriage? With your income? If so then the house is partially marital property.

 

[not2cleverRed]

Thanks for detail replies.

I was given $100K by parents to buy house 3 yrs ago, which was 6 months before marriage. I refinanced the mortgage 2x under my name only after marriage. My spouse has been violent & abusive from the beginning of our marriage. She left on her own. Like a deserter.
It would hurt to take 50% of that house. I have all checks from parent to prove it was gift money etc

Did you close on the house before the marriage?

She has a legal basis to go for 50% of the equity accrued during the (2 year?) marriage.

 

[jimmysoul]

How was the mortgage paid during the marriage? With your income? If so then the house is partially marital property.

yes mortgage was paid using my income only I used that gift money as down payment

Did you close on the house before the marriage?

She has a legal basis to go for 50% of the equity accrued during the (2 year?) marriage.

no, I live the house and she does not

and there is mortgage on the house and no equity. Even if I sell the house now. It would be a loss to me as market value of my house is down

 

[not2cleverRed]

yes mortgage was paid using my income only I used that gift money as down payment




no, I live the house and she does not

and there is mortgage on the house and no equity. Even if I sell the house now. It would be a loss to me as market value of my house is down

Money earned during the marriage is MARITAL. Mortgage payments made with money that was earned DURING the marriage were made with MARITAL income. The was OG's point. During the marriage you weren't paying the mortgage out of premarital savings, or separate assets.

The gift money might be viewed as SEPARATE i.e. non-marital property. Depending. If the down payment was entirely made from that gift, then you are probably alright. You received the money 6 months before marrying. So I will ask again: did you purchase the house BEFORE or AFTER the wedding?

I don't care where she lives right now. I didn't ask that.

You have refi'd the house twice since marrying, and you have been married for, like, 2 1/2 years.

If what you owe on the mortgage is greater than the fair market value of your home, then you are "upside down" on your mortgage. That makes the house the opposite of an asset. In which case, your wife should be happy that her name is not on the mortgage.

It is also very likely that most of your 401K contributions, for example, were not made during this short marriage.

Before you do something stupid, sit down with a credible lawyer and learn about marital debt versus marital assets. It is possible that you married a dingbat, and that the actual marital assets are less than what you could pay your respective lawyers for a low conflict divorce.

 

[Ohiogal]

yes mortgage was paid using my income only I used that gift money as down payment




no, I live the house and she does not

and there is mortgage on the house and no equity. Even if I sell the house now. It would be a loss to me as market value of my house is down

Your income was marital. Your house is now part marital property.